


It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

by storywriter55



Series: Milestones [12]
Category: White Collar (TV 2009)
Genre: Family, Gen, Holidays, Sick Children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:55:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 40,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27860366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storywriter55/pseuds/storywriter55
Summary: Neal and Sara prepare for a quiet Christmas with their young family but fate intervenes when they're forced to face some of life's unexpected ups and downs. Warning: severe domestic fluff ahead. Part of the 'Milestones' series (5.9 years)
Relationships: Neal Caffrey/Sara Ellis
Series: Milestones [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/80614
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

‘It’s not fair!’ Hope whined as she dragged her feet, head thrown back dramatically for effect.

‘Hope, that’s enough! I get it, believe me. Life isn’t always fair’ Neal said as he trudged along, pushing the grocery cart through the busy milk aisle.

Although pissed off at his five year old’s behaviour, he was really cursing himself for having offered to pick her up at school and make the grocery run instead of volunteering to pick up the baby at the sitter’s. Sara had definitely gotten the sweet end of _that_ deal...she was probably back at the house already, sipping a glass of wine and waiting for them to get home.

Hope had been whining for the past fifteen minutes as he dragged her through the store on a mission to pick up a few last minute items for dinner… something about Olivia going to Florida to visit her cousins for the holidays. It was sweltering hot in the store and Neal was sweating profusely under his warm winter coat. Hope was trying to keep up with him, whiny and impatient as she dragged her hat and scarf behind her on the dirty floor.

‘Hope, pick up your hat and scarf and throw them in the basket’ he said harshly as he reached for a loaf of bread.

‘But I’m hoooot!’ she cried, more like a disgruntled toddler than the mature five year old she claimed to be.

‘HOPE!’ Neal shouted, louder than he’d intended.

He smiled apologetically at a nearby woman who was giving him the evil eye – obviously, _she_ had never had to contend with a tired and hungry five year old in a busy grocery store right at dinner time.He took a deep breath and tried to regain his composure, finally turning to face his daughter. Despite the fact he couldn’t wait to get the hell out of the store, he took a moment to crouch down to her eye level and he gently tugged on her coat lapel.

‘Sorry sweet pea’ he said, his voice calm. ‘I didn’t mean to raise my voice.’

He unzipped her winter jacket, slipping her arms out and tucking her mitts, hat and scarf into her coat sleeve before throwing it into his half filled grocery basket.

‘Better?’ he asked as he looked into her tired eyes.

She nodded and he grabbed for a tissue from his coat pocket and wiped her runny nose as she continued to stare blankly at him with a look of total misery.

‘Look, I know you’re hungry and you’re tired and you can’t wait to get home but it’ll just be a few more minutes, okay?’ he said, running his hand through her hair to tame the static electricity left behind by her woolen hat. 

‘Do you want to sit in the cart?’ he asked with a conciliatory smile.

‘Daddy, I’m five years old’ she responded in a _‘are you kidding?’_ tone of voice.

Neal shrugged. ‘Well, do you want to hold onto the front of the cart and I’ll push you?’

That sounded more like a five-year old thing to do and Hope nodded, her eyes watery.

He scooped her up in his arms to give her a quick hug and Hope threw her arms around her dad’s neck, tucking her head between his neck and shoulder and holding on for dear life. Neal rolled his eyes; so much for being too old to sit in the grocery cart.

He grabbed the cart with one hand and started navigating towards the fruit aisle as Hope remained snuggled up against him. He was sweating bullets, exhausted from his week at work and now he had to navigate a heavy cart through a busy grocery store with forty-seven pounds of dead weight hanging off his neck. 

He accelerated the pace and made quick work of grabbing the fruits and vegetables they would need to tide them over for the next couple of days and he finally made it to the cash register just as his phone rang, buried deep in his coat pocket.

‘Damn it’ he mumbled under his breath. Considering the fact he couldn’t grow a third arm in the next five seconds, he chose to ignore the call and instead carry on, finishing the loathsome task so he could get the hell out of there before he melted into a puddle on the floor.

WCWCWC

Sara Ellis sat behind the wheel, trying to block out the constant wailing coming from her son in the back seat. The child minder had looked like she was at the end of her tether when she’d placed Liam in his mom’s arms, telling her that, except for a short nap, he’d been crying practically non-stop all day. Sara had wished the woman a good evening and had strapped her son into his car seat before heading home to wait for Neal and Hope. 

Generally speaking, Liam Theodore Caffrey was a quiet, agreeable baby. He’d been sleeping through the night for the past six weeks coinciding with his mom’s return to work following her maternity leave. The young suburban couple was now officially in the throes of juggling two full time careers with two young children at home. Luckily, Hope was in school all day and they had a fantastic caregiver for Liam but the days were busy and the evenings short and by the time the young parents got around to feeding their brood, bathing them and settling them in for the night, they were pretty well done-in and ready to hit the sack themselves.

Liam continued to howl in the back seat as Sara fiddled with the CD player, looking for that song that always seemed to soothe him when he got restless in the car – something about a bouncy little frog.She kept her eye on the road which was slippery and wet, thanks to the flurries that had been coming down steadily all day. One more day and they could all relax for a week and enjoy a nice intimate family Christmas. Doing her best to shut out the persistent sobs, she thought ahead to their family holidays. It was the first year since she and Neal had been together that they wouldn’t be sharing the holidays with the Burkes and the other members of their extended family. Peter and Elizabeth were scheduled to leave on Saturday to visit Peter’s folks upstate and June had left the previous week to spend the holidays with her daughter out in California. Even Mozzie was leaving to spend time in Detroit with his old mentor, Mr. Jacobs – if he hadn’t already left, that is.

Truth be told, she and Neal were looking forward to a nice quiet Christmas at home with the kids. It was Liam’s first and Hope was really into the whole Christmas and Santa thing. They’d go to the Santa Claus parade on Sunday and cocoon for a few days of quiet relaxation while the kids played with their new toys and she and Neal finally reconnected after a busy few weeks. But _before_ they could relax, she still had a few errands to run including picking up the perfect gift for her perfect husband – and then there was all that gift wrapping to do and ToysRUs had called to say the sing along microphone she’d ordered for Hope had finally come in...

Suddenly a car horn was heard, letting her know the light had turned green and Sara shouted back over Liam’s cries.

‘Right, buddy!’ she yelled, refrained from giving the guy behind her the finger – too many crazies in New York these days. 

The snow kept coming down, some guy kept singing about a frog and Liam kept wailing. She knew she should have offered to pick up Hope and do the grocery run.

WCWCWC

Hope still hadn’t stirred by the time Neal finished paying for the groceries and he looked down at his daughter, surprised to find that, despite the chaos and noise of the busy story, she had somehow managed to fall asleep. Not having the heart to wake her, he threw her warm coat over her overheated body, tucked her hands inside his warm coat and hurried out to the car, pushing the cart along with one hand. The cold air hit his face as he stepped out, the snow pinching his cheeks - a temporary reprieve from the extreme heat inside the store and he pushed the cart all the way to the end of the parking lot where the family car awaited.

‘Hope?’ he said quietly as he gently placed her in the back seat of the car.

She looked up bleary-eyed, her face flushed. ‘Daddy, I don’t feel good’ she said as Neal touched her forehead, noticing it was still hot despite the elements.

‘Okay sweetie’ he said as he strapped her in and kissed her forehead. ‘We’ll be home in ten minutes.’

It was just a few days until Christmas and there was still so much to do. Peter and El wanted to drop off the kids’ gifts before they left town and Neal had foolishly invited them to brunch and he still hadn’t found the perfect gift for Sara – to say nothing of the last minute food preparation which was always his responsibility. 

‘How are you doing back there?’ Neal asked as he entered their neighbourhood.

‘I think I’m going to throw up’ Hope said meekly as Neal quickly accelerated, hoping to avoid a mess.

‘Hold on!’ he urged.

He came up their street and immediately noticed that a whole string of the carefully arranged Christmas lights on the front of their house was burnt out. Great! The street’s best decorated house contest which he enthusiastically participated in every year was two days away and he was really hoping that this was ‘his’ year; just add _that_ his to-do list. 

To add insult to injury, the snow plow had just paid a visit and there was a lovely snow bank about a foot high blocking the driveway leading to the house. It must have just happened because he could see that Sara had managed to park their SUV in the driveway before the damage was done. Neal parked hurriedly in front of the house and threw the car door open hoping they would make it inside in time; he really didn’t want to add ‘having the car detailed’ to the ever growing list of chores that needed doing before the big day.

He stepped out of the car and grabbed for the back door, stepping around to help Hope out just as he heard the inevitable sound of retching coming from the back seat. Although she managed to avoid most of the inside of the car, she was right on target as far as the front of her clothes and she managed to take out her dad’s shoes as she emptied her stomach with a loud groan followed by inevitable sobbing. Despite the mess, Neal moved in quickly to pick her up in his arms and cradle her against him; throwing up was never a personal choice on anyone’s part.

‘Oh honey, come on, let’s get you in the house’ he mumbled as he awkwardly stepped over the snow bank and up the driveway with Hope in his arms.

He opened the door to the sound of his son wailing and even before he could close the front door behind him, he heard Sara’s voice off in the distance.

‘Did you get my text? Did you remember to get orange juice?’ she called from the back of the house. 

Sara Ellis suddenly appeared from the kitchen, carrying the crying baby, spying her husband covered in vomit and their daughter moaning in his arms.

‘Oh, no! What happened?’ she asked unnecessarily as Neal looked at her with an exasperated look.

‘Three guesses, Sherlock’ he said rather mordantly as she came to their rescue.

Sara glared at his choice of remark and Neal looked at her sheepishly as she put Liam down on the nearby couch for a moment while she prepared to take their daughter’s listless body from Neal’s arms. Liam’s wails intensified at being left on his own and Neal proceeded to take off his coat and survey the damage to his beloved Rockports which had been partially sheltered by his overshoes – maybe they wouldn’t be a total write-off.

‘Sorry’ he said. ‘It’s been a rough couple of hours.’

‘Tell me about it’ she replied as she glanced over at Liam who was now sobbing uncontrollably.

Sara stood there, trying to comfort their daughter who continued to moan in her arms and hoping her silk blouse would survive a good deep wash.

‘What’s going on with Liam?’ Neal asked as he shrugged out of his coat and gingerly let it drop on the front door mat – it was probably not salvageable.

He made his way to his little boy and gently placed him on his chest as he stroked his back; usually a winning move where the baby was concerned but alas, not in this case. He cradled the infant in his arms as he began to bounce up and down, another usually good tactic, as Liam continued to shriek.

‘I don’t know’ Sara said, desperation in her voice. ‘He’s been crying like that since I picked him up at Fran’s. She says she thinks he’s teething.’

The couple exchanged a look of desperation as they stood there with their miserable offspring in their arms.

Neal managed to paste a smile on his face and he leaned in to kiss his wife hello.

‘Hi’ he said softly although his voice couldn’t be heard above the noise in the room.

It was most definitely an auspicious beginning to the Christmas season.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Sara stood by the front door and watched as Neal finished shovelling the driveway. She wandered back to the kitchen, still cradling Liam in her arms, and put the kettle on for hot cocoa. Neal had been out there for close to an hour, with the cold wind whipping around and the blowing snow; she knew he’d appreciate a warm drink to take the edge off – after all, it was the least she could do for her thoughtful husband. 

Hope had finally fallen asleep on the nearby couch in the family room, having totally crashed after dinner – which had consistent of a beaten egg in a glass of milk with a touch of vanilla and sugar, something Sara remembered as a cure-all for an upset stomach when she was a little girl.

Liam was finally quiet but he remained restless and presently it was a choice between lugging him around and enjoying the blessed silence or putting him down and having him start to cry again. At the moment, the quiet was well worth it and Sara continued rocking him back and forth as she heard the front door open. She took a few steps so she could be in her husband’s sight line and brought her finger to her lips, urging him to be quiet while Neal began to remove his outer clothing, rubbing his hands together to try to warm up.

He followed her into the kitchen, spying the cup of cocoa on the counter and giving her a small smile in appreciation. 

‘So, she finally fell asleep’ he whispered as he looked over at Hope, curled up under a warm blanket.

‘I think she’s running a fever. I’ll check again before we put her to bed’ Sara whispered back.

‘You okay?’ Neal asked as he brought his hand up to gently rub Sara’s back.

She rolled her eyes. ‘What are we going to do about tomorrow?’ she murmured as they stood in their quiet kitchen, enjoying the silence after several hours of chaos.

‘I’ve got a meeting with Peter to close out the Donaldson case at 10:00 but I don’t need to go the office’ he responded quietly, referring to his regular job as art authenticator with Finch and Johns.

He’d been helping Peter on a case over the past month, an increasingly unusual occurrence since his sentence had ended but every now and then, Peter Burke still needed his ex-CI’s expertise on a given case and Neal had given his best friend a hand in solving a particularly troublesome case that had been haunting the White Collar Unit for the past six months. 

‘Well, Hope can’t go to school like that’ Sara said, her voice quiet.

It was the last day of school before the Christmas break and Hope had been looking forward to the concert they’d be having in the afternoon. Neal and Sara had both taken the afternoon off to attend since Hope would be singing with the rest of the kindergarteners. She’d been driving them crazy for the past two weeks with her off-key rendition of ‘Silent Night’.

Neal gave her a shoulder shrug. ‘What about Liam? Should we keep him home too?’ he asked, his voice low.

‘Oh, I forgot’ Sara said. ‘More bad news... Fran just called and said she can’t take him tomorrow. Her mom’s sick and she has to go to Boston.’  
‘Great!’ Neal muttered sarcastically under his breath.

‘What about you?’ he asked.

‘I’ve got a staff meeting in the morning but it’ll only last for an hour or so’ she answered.

This two career thing while juggling two kids was still new for the young couple and their usual safety net – which consisted mostly of Mozzie and June – where both out of town.

‘What about El?’ Neal asked.

‘Already tried that. But she has an event at lunch and she’s booked for most of the day’ whispered Sara.

‘Oh, I know, I could call Donna’ Sara said referring to their friend and neighbour Donna Mason who could always be counted on in a pinch. 

She reached for the phone just as Neal put out his hand to stop her.

‘No’ he whispered, recalling Hope’s earlier hissy fit. ‘They took Olivia to Florida to visit Jeff’s sister remember?’

Sara let out a discouraged sigh. 

‘I suppose I could take one of them with me when I meet Peter. He won’t mind’ Neal suggested, his voice a quiet whisper.

‘Well, I can’t see trying to run a staff meeting with a crying baby in my arms. I think it might be easier if I take Hope with me – if she’s functional, that is. She can sit and colour while I have my meeting’ Sara said.

‘Yeah, I think Peter would be more amenable to Liam crying than your staff’ Neal agreed.

He looked at Sara’s worried face and put his arms out to take Liam from her. She’d been lugging him around for over an hour and he could tell she was getting tired. Liam let out a couple of short, half-hearted cries during the transition but Neal immediately began the bobbing up and down motion that usually calmed his son and the baby relaxed in his arms as Neal ran a reassuring hand up and down his little back.

‘It’s going to be fine’ Neal whispered as he put his other arm around Sara, pulling her close. ‘After tomorrow, it’s all smooth sailing.’

Sara nodded in response.

‘Mooom!’ they heard from the family room. ‘I’m gonna throw up again.’

WCWCWC

‘It’s your turn’ Sara moaned as she elbowed Neal.

They had finally gotten the kids to sleep at around eleven o’clock after Hope had been sick another couple of times. Her temperature was hovering around 101 by the time they’d tucked her in. The dose of Children’s Tylenol they’d given her before finally carrying her up to bed seemed to have done the trick and they hadn’t heard a peep from that direction in a couple of hours. 

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for baby Liam. He was also running a low grade fever, his cheeks red and hot, and he’d settled down on a couple of occasions only to wake up wailing again a little while later.

Neal and Sara had been taking turns getting up – he at 12:47 and she at 2:16. Neal looked over groggily at the bedside clock, noticing it was 3:04 – this time, he hadn’t even lasted an hour.

Neal kicked off the blankets and stood barefoot in the cool house. He made his way to Hope’s room to check on her. Her cheeks seemed cooler and she let out a small sigh as Neal brought his lips to her forehead before closing the door to her room so she wouldn’t be awakened by her brother’s insistent wails – one sick kid at a time was definitely enough. 

He stepped into the baby’s room to find Liam sobbing uncontrollably, his cheeks red hot as he looked up bleary-eyed at his dad, putting his arms out to be comforted.

‘Awww, baby’ Neal said as he picked him up and held him tight against his chest. ‘What’s the matter, huh? Don’t you know it’s the middle of the night. You should be sleeping.’

He carried him over to the change table, Liam’s cries finally receding at the sound of his dad’s reassuring voice and comforting touch but when Neal momentarily put him down to check his diaper, he started up again, louder than before.

‘It’s okay, it’s okay. Let Daddy check your diaper’ Neal whispered as he held up one of Liam’s favourite stuffed toys in an effort to distract him. 

‘Look, it’s Tender Heart, look, look!’ he said as he waved the stuffed toy in front of the baby’s eyes, unsuccessful in his quest to get him to stop crying.

He rushed through the motions, changing his wet diaper in record time and picking up his crying son in his arms, he headed over to the nearby rocking chair – again, a definite go-to move in Neal’s experience. In this case however, Liam didn’t want to cuddle and go back to sleep and he pushed back with his little arms when Neal tried to pull him closer to comfort him. Neal got up and started pacing around the room again, bouncing the baby up and down as the cries began to recede once again.

‘All right, all right’ he said, soothingly. ‘Let’s go downstairs and let Mommy and Hope get some sleep.’

He made it down to the kitchen, stopping to turn the thermostat up a little, and peeked outside the front door, noticing that more snow had accumulated over the past few hours. He might need to shovel again before they could get the cars out in the morning he reflected as he turned on the soft light over the stove and continued bouncing Liam up and down. He grabbed for a bottle of breast milk from the fridge and prepared to heat it up, making his way to the laptop which lay on the kitchen table to do some quick research on teething.

He didn’t remember it being much of an issue with Hope when she was that age; it seemed that her teeth had just appeared one day out of the blue. He remembered playing with her one day when he’d suddenly noticed the arrival of sharp incisors as she bit down on his unsuspecting finger. He typed in the word ‘teething’ as Liam began to fuss at the loss of movement and he stood again to get his bottle, resettling him in his arms and placing Liam in his arms so he could see the computer screen. He placed the bottle against his son’s mouth and felt him latch on while with his other hand, he began to scroll down, looking for useful information.

Several dozen websites came up on his search and Neal began reading the various symptoms associated with the ritual – symptoms which varied greatly from one baby to another, it seemed. He turned Liam towards him to check his mouth, removing the nipple from the bottle that he seemed to be biting insistently. He fussed when Neal tried to look into his mouth, the tell-tale swollen gums obvious as Neal ran his finger gently over the redness. Liam bit down hard.

‘Does that feel good?’ Neal asked as the baby continued to suck and bite hard on Neal’s finger.

He continued to read, feeling the unfamiliar suction on his finger. The flushed cheeks were another typical symptom - although with the way his big sister was feeling, Neal wanted to make sure Liam wasn’t getting the flu as well. He looked down at his son, who was now smirking at him, happy to have his dad’s undivided attention.

‘Oh I get it’ he murmured softly. ‘Now that you’ve got me up in the middle of the night, you’re wide awake and perfectly happy, huh?’ 

Liam grinned back, gurgling.

‘Let’s see if we can get you back to sleep’ Neal continued, getting to his feet and walking over to the couch in the nearby family room.

If the last two attempts at putting him down were any indication, he figured he had a better chance of getting him to fall asleep if he held him for a while so he settled on his back, cradling Liam on his chest as they both lay there, perfectly content.

Neal began to sing softly as Liam put his head down, feeling Neal’s cool chest against his hot face. Grabbing for a nearby blanket, Neal covered them both up, fully intending to get him to sleep and return to his own warm bed. The baby grabbed for Neal’s finger, having found relief there, and proceeded to suck furiously once again as Neal chuckled softly at the strange sensation. 

The next sound Neal heard was Sara’s stiletto heels coming down the stairs.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Whoever had coined the phrase ‘travelling light’ certainly didn’t have kids.

The one thing Neal Caffrey and Sara Ellis had learned since the arrival of their children was that there was quite a difference between getting ready to go out on your own and getting ready to leave the house with your kids in tow. There was the inevitable excess baggage to see to and in their limited experience, the smaller the kid, the more the baggage.

And two things were guaranteed: you’d always forget _something_ and you would be running late.

By the time Neal was woken from a dead sleep by his wife and daughter, it was already 8:00 on a Friday morning and Sir Liam had decided that this was the perfect time to sleep soundly as he lay against Neal’s chest, dead to the world. Neal forced an eye open and watched Sara come into view, impeccably dressed as always, as she fluttered around the kitchen trying to get herself and their daughter out the door. Hope appeared behind her mom, looking quite a bit more chipper than the last time he’d laid eyes on her. Sara had dressed her in a pretty little dress covered in cute little ladybugs, matching red tights and her usual Mary Janes.The red colour complimented Hope’s complexion, making her look a little less sallow than she’d looked when they’d put her to bed the night before.

Neal sat up, holding on to the dead weight curled up against his chest and he peeled Liam off, placing him gently next to him on the couch as he continued to sleep soundly. They were both covered in sweat from the warm wool blanket and the inevitable body heat created by having another human being plastered to your body. Neal’s mind wandered ahead to the wonderful hot shower he would indulge in before he left to meet Peter.

‘Hi Daddy’ Hope said as she came over and offered her arms up for a hug. It was unclear at this point who needed it more.

‘Good morning, sweet pea! How are you feeling this morning?’ he asked, holding her tight.

She shrugged. Her eyes were droopy and although her colour was good, there was something off about her – mainly the fact that she was standing there without moving, an unusual occurrence for the usually busy five-year-old.

‘Sara, are you sure she’s well enough to go out in this weather?’ Neal asked, bleary-eyed.

‘I pumped her full of meds, she’ll be fine’ said Sara, deadpan.

Neal gave her a look of total horror as he stood and taking Hope’s hand in his, he walked over towards her. Seeing his face, Sara gave him an eye roll.

‘Relax, I’m joking. I just gave her some Gravol and some more Tylenol so she could make it through the next few hours’ Sara said. ‘Yay, drugs!’

‘You do know that’ll only _mask_ the symptoms, right?’ Neal said as he made his way to the kitchen table where Sara was madly buttering some toast for herself and Hope.

‘Well, it’ll have to be good _enough_ until we can get her back here to bed where she belongs’ she said in her usual no-nonsense way.

Neal sighed; he had a nagging feeling this wasn’t a good idea. Hope belonged under the blankets, curled up against him and watching stuff she wasn’t normally allowed to watch on television. He sat at the table and lifted his daughter onto his lap, running his hand over her beautiful dark curls and looking into those baby blues that were a reflection of his own.

‘Do you _want_ to go to Mommy’s office?’ he asked.

She nodded enthusiastically. ‘Mommy said she’d buy me a Hello Kitty pencil case if I was a good girl.’ 

Neal gave his wife a dirty look as she avoided his glare. Besides the obvious bribery involved, Neal knew all too well that the pencil case was already under their bed upstairs, carefully hidden away – one of Hope’s many Christmas gifts. Sara was double dipping!

‘All right, then’ he said giving in and kissing the top of her head.

He turned to Sara. ‘Can you keep an eye on Liam, I’m going to go shovel so you guys can get out of the driveway.’

‘Okay’ she said as she hovered over Hope, coaxing her to have a few bites of breakfast – a move she would later live to regret.

Neal stood to leave and took a last lingering look at his wife, realizing he couldn’t even remember the last time they’d been intimate. He pulled her in for a kiss and he moved his mouth to her neck, and in the sweetest tone imaginable, he whispered into her ear.

‘Honey’ he murmured. ‘I know these are some of the most dreaded words in the English language but – you’ve got a run in your stockings.’

‘Ugh!’ she replied.

WCWCWC

Neal didn’t usually take the car into Manhattan. It was a major pain in the ass what with traffic and the parking situation once you finally got there. Ever since they’d lived in White Plains, he and Sara would drive to the ‘park and ride’ every morning and leave the car there for the day, preferring to jump on the commuter train into Manhattan. Of course, that was all fine and well when you weren’t dragging a miserable six-month old baby along for the ride and on this day, Neal realized he wouldn’t have the choice but to drive into downtown. 

He packed up all the necessary ‘stuff’ in Liam’s diaper bag for his foray out to the Federal Building and checked his appearance in the mirror one last time before tackling the job of getting his son ready.Neal looked like his usual, impeccable self despite the fact that he’d gotten very little sleep and he smiled at his reflection – ‘You’ve still got it, Caffrey’ he whispered vainly to himself.

So far, so good as far as Liam was concerned. He was still snoozing in his crib and Neal hoped that he would sleep all the way through the rest of the morning so he could get this meeting over with in a timely manner, without any undue complications. 

But wishes were just that, as he was about to find out.

Neal glanced down at Liam in his crib, reluctant to move him, lest he disturb his sleep but he couldn’t carry him into the car like this. He had to change his diaper and put something other than a sleeper on him – after all, Neal was going to be showing off his son to his colleagues from the office, an uncommon occurrence. Although Peter, Diana and even Jones had seen Liam on numerous occasions, most of the secretaries and the support staff hadn’t had the pleasure and Neal looked forward to everyone fawning over his gorgeous son – an extension of himself. 

As babies went, Liam _was_ gorgeous and according to his parents, he was in a class by himself: he had his mother’s fair colouring although not much yet in the way of hair, unlike his sister who’d always had a thick, curly head of hair. His green eyes were identical in colour to Sara’s own and he got those great Caffrey dimples whenever he smiled which was pretty well every time someone smiled at him.

Neal stared at his sleeping son, his little mouth puckered up in that oh so cute way Neal loved. He smiled and reached in to pick him up, hoping not to disturb his slumber.

‘Hey buddy’ he whispered. ’Let’s change your diaper and get you dressed.'

Liam lay limp and relaxed in Neal’s arms as his daddy carried him over to the change table where he’d laid everything out for the diaper change as well as the cute little outfit he’d picked out for him to wear: a pair of OshKosh coveralls in a gorgeous shade of grey and the cutest stripped shirt and matching socks. Neal had always been a clothes whore and he intended to pass that very special talent onto both his kids.

The moment Neal lay Liam down on the change table, the baby’s eyes opened and Neal gave him a glorious smile as he began to undo the snaps of his little sleeper.

‘Good morning sunshine!’ he said as he gazed at his son and gave him a little tickle. ‘You and I are going for a drive today.’

Liam stared back, uncertain, a tentative smile on his face which lasted but an instant and immediately dissolved into a frown as he began to whimper. 

‘Hey, hey, what’s going on?’ Neal asked as he carried on with the diaper change.

Liam was usually quite content to lay there when he had his diaper changed, cooing and gurgling as he was sung to or playing with a nearby toy. It had become a ritual, a privileged time for father and son to bond and Neal looked forward to those moments, cooing sweetly, talking and singing to the baby while Sara made fun of him. _‘Caffrey’_ she’d say. _‘I swear you’re worse than he is._

But on this day, Liam seemed to remember that he was feeling crappy and he was _supposed_ to be miserable and his cries escalated as Neal finally got him undressed, noticing he’d left a little extra something in his diaper for his dad. 

Now to be fair, Neal was an expert diaper changer – or so he liked to think. He didn’t shy away from any challenge and as a matter of fact, changing a poopy diaper was much more his domain than his wife’s. Seeing the soft mess he was dealing with, Neal took a step back and with one hand holding Liam safely in place, he began to unbutton his shirt sleeves; this might get messy and he didn’t want to get his shirt dirty. He soldiered on, lifting Liam’s little bum up in the air to examine the extent of the damage and although he was normally skilled at sheltering himself from Liam’s ‘fountain’, he was distracted this time and before he knew it, a fine spray of pee was sprouting from his son, aimed directly at his Alexander McQueen micro-dot necktie – the one Sara had given him for his last birthday. 

‘Awww!’ he moaned as he checked out the damage.

He quickly covered up the baby’s bum, alas too late to limit the damages to his shirt and tie, and finished the job as quickly as possible while Liam’s cries graduated to breathless sobs. With difficulty, he managed to wash his son, change his diaper and get him dressed while he valiantly sung Liam’s favourite song – the one about the little green frog.

By the time he finished, Liam looked great but Neal was a mess and he reluctantly had to put him back in his crib while he washed and changed his shirt and tie all while being serenaded by Liam’s insistent wails. 

By the time, they made it to the car, Liam had calmed down somewhat. Neal had taken the time to hold him, checking his mouth and giving him a hard plastic toy to chew on, something that seemed to calm Liam, at least temporarily.

It was already past nine and Neal knew the traffic would be hellish; it was the last weekend before Christmas and shoppers would be out in droves. After much fanfare, he managed to get them both out to the car which took almost five minutes to clear from the snow which had accumulated overnight. He did a mental check of everything he needed: diapers, change of clothes, wetnaps, bottle of breast milk, toys, facecloth... check, check, check and he finally got behind the wheel, the loud crying still persistent in the back seat. 

He took a deep breath, pleased with himself for covering all the bases and he prepared to drive away, his briefcase containing his report to Peter sitting forgotten by the front door.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Hope Ellis-Caffrey was a big hit at Sterling Bosch. She sat in on her mom’s staff meeting, a perfect little angel as everyone came over to say hi and tell her what a cutie patootie she was. Sara beamed nearby; she was proud of her kids and the way they behaved. It took a lot of work but she and Neal took pride in their daughter being a polite and well-mannered young lady. After all, it sometimes went against nature considering how outspoken the five-year-old was, a trait she’d most certainly inherited from her mom.

‘Now that everyone’s here, I think we’ll get started’ Sara said as everyone took a seat.

Hope sat to her mom’s right with her backpack on the table and she reached in to grab for a pencil and her sketching pad. She was a budding artist in her own right, spending countless hours in the studio at home where her dad nurtured her burgeoning talent. She had the same fire in her belly he’d always had but she had the advantage of having someone watching over her and guiding her, something Neal was extremely grateful for. 

She looked around the room at the many faces and she got busy sketching some of the people around her to everyone’s delight as Sara struggled with keeping everyone’s attention on the subjects at hand. The offices would be running on a skeleton staff for the next week and the newly appointed team leader wanted to make certain that there were no loose ends before most of her team took a well-deserved break for the holidays. Sara walked them through the main points and was just about to wrap up when there was a decisive knock at the conference room door. 

Everyone turned to see the head honcho himself walk in, carrying a bunch of envelopes in his hand. 

‘Mr. Bosch’ Sara said, not so surprised to see him. ‘What a nice surprise!’

Hope looked up at the man and felt her stomach lurch; that toast she’d been force fed at breakfast had been churning around in her belly ever since they’d left White Plains. Sara stood to welcome the newcomer and gave up her chair at the head of the table, moving over to where her daughter sat, urging her to get up and share her seat. Hope settled on her mom’s lap as the boss man sat briefly, placing the stack of envelopes on the table in front of him.

‘Good morning, everyone’ he said. ‘Sorry to interrupt your meeting. I see we have a new investigator on the team’ he added as he glanced over at Hope.

Sara had run her daughter’s visit by his office that morning just out of courtesy and the man seemed to know who the child was as he awkwardly smiled at her, obviously not used to dealing with children. 

Hope forced a smile but felt herself getting dizzy, her head spinning and her stomach gurgling as she watched the proceedings.

‘I just wanted to come by and wish you all Happy Holidays’ the man continued as he addressed the group. ‘... and of course, Santa was by this morning and left a little something for each of you’ he added as everyone chuckled politely at his gauche attempt at humour. 

He pointed to the envelopes on the table and Sara could see her name on the top one; the usual Christmas bonus would be most welcome especially with all those extra expenses around this time of year. She felt Hope wilting in her arms and held on to her a little tighter as Mr. Bosch rose to leave.

Suddenly, Hope made a most unexpected sound and Sara watched in horror as her daughter began to heave, once, twice... and before she could do anything, Hope was emptying the contents of her stomach onto the conference room table or more precisely directly on the stack of envelopes Sara’s boss had just placed there. 

Mr. Bosch watched the situation unfold in disgust and everyone in the room gasped, some of the staff actually covering their mouths as they suffered through their own gag reflexes. 

Hope looked up at her mom, tears running down her face.

‘I don’t feel well, Mommy’ she managed to say.

WCWCWC

‘So you’re telling me you came all the way down here to give me a report that you forgot at home?’ Peter said as Neal walked - or rather bounced - around the conference room of the White Collar Unit with a crying Liam curled up against his chest in a snuggly.

‘Peter, I can give you the highlights’ Neal said apologetically. ‘I’ll just e-mail you the report later.’

Peter’s eyes moved from Neal’s distressed face to his screaming nephew and he walked over to stand directly in front of his ex CI. ‘Here, why don’t we get him out of that thing’ he said as he struggled to figure out how the damn contraption was attached to Neal’s body.

Neal looked down at his son, whispering sweet nothings as he pulled him out of the snuggly, turning him around so he could look at his uncle. Liam relaxed a little and the screaming subsided and morphed into a few breathless sobs as Peter put out his arms to take him from his dad. 

‘Look, why don’t you go down and have a cup of coffee with Jones and Diana. I’ll take him off your hands for a few minutes. You look like you could use a break’ Peter said sympathetically.

Neal must have been really relieved because Peter saw the smile which had been missing on his face since he’d arrived.

‘Are you sure? He’s teething and he’s really miserable’ Neal said as he reluctantly handed his son over to Peter.

‘We’ll be fine’ Peter said in a baby voice as Liam began to calm down due to all the attention he was getting. ‘Won’t we, Liam?’

‘I’ll only be a few minutes. I think he’ll be okay but you’ve got everything you need in that diaper bag’ Neal said as he pointed and glanced nervously at Peter.

‘Stop worrying Neal. I catch criminals for a living; I’m sure I can handle a baby for a few minutes’ he said, dismissing Neal’s reluctance.

Peter had always been an amazing uncle and godfather to Hope. He doted on her constantly, spoiling her rotten, taking her out places, having her over to their house almost every weekend. In fact, the two of them were joined at the hip - had been ever since Hope was a baby. Although Peter would certainly not be described as a ‘kid person’, the bond between him and Hope was undeniable and there was nothing she could possibly do that he couldn’t or wouldn’t forgive – including that time she broke his cherished baseball award by kicking a soccer ball through the air in the Burke living room. But Hope was almost six years old and dealing with a child that age was quite different from a whiny baby and Neal gave Peter one last hesitant glance before turning to leave.

‘Get out of here, Caffrey. That’s an order!’ Peter said as he returned his gaze to the baby who was momentarily calm in his arms.

Neal stepped out and saw Jones and Diana lurking nearby.

‘Wow, wish I had a camera handy’ Diana said as Jones pulled out his phone and aimed it up at Peter’s office.

‘Always be ready’ he said under his breath as he checked out the photograph he’d just taken and showed to Neal.

‘One for the books, that’s for sure’ Neal agreed.

‘Hey Caffrey, they opened a fancy coffee shop on the 12th floor. Come on, I’ll buy you a latte’ Diana said as she took his arm and pulled him away from where he stood, staring up into Peter’s office.

‘Come on’ she coaxed. ‘He’ll be fine. What’s the worst that can happen?’

Neal took one last look at his son who seemed to be smiling at his uncle Peter and he turned away, tempted by the allure of a great cup of coffee.

WCWCWC

‘I’m sorry Mommy’ Hope said, crying as Sara placed her in the back seat of the car.

The damage to the conference room had been cleaned up and luckily, the only envelope that had been truly ‘damaged’ was the one addressed to Sara Ellis.

‘It’s okay, honey. Stop apologizing. You didn’t do it on purpose’ Sara said, her voice surprisingly calm.

Her original response had been less than understanding and her usual acerbic comments had slipped from her lips before she could censor herself, something she was bitterly regretting now that she saw the state of her beloved daughter.

‘But that man looked mad’ Hope whined.

‘You let me worry about that man, sweetie’ Sara said as she kissed her forehead and finally took her place behind the wheel.

‘Now, let’s get you home, okay? And if you want, you can lie in our bed or you can watch television on the couch’ Sara said, her voice sweet and loving.

She looked into the rear view mirror to check out her daughter’s face and was surprised to find that she was already sound asleep.

WCWCWC

Neal checked his watch; they’d been gone for over thirty minutes and as much as he was enjoying the company of adults for a change, he was well aware that Liam’s good mood probably hadn’t lasted more than a few minutes.

Diana saw the look in his eyes and surmised what he was thinking. ‘You worried about Peter or Liam?’ she asked.

‘Both, actually’ he admitted with his patented smile. ‘Liam’s been miserable since yesterday. He’s teething and...’ 

He looked up at Diana then back at Jones – whatever he’d said had elicited a furtive exchange of glances between the two of them and despite his immediate concern for what might be happening a few floors above them, he couldn’t help but react.

‘So... what’s going on? What is it you guys aren’t telling me?’ he asked as he looked from one to the other.

Diana piped up, her face glowing, unable to contain herself any longer. ‘I’m pregnant!’ she announced with a wide grin.

‘What?’ Neal said as he rose to hug his friend. ‘I knew you and Christie had been talking about artificial insemination but I didn’t realize…’

Diana beamed. 

‘That’s amazing! I’m so happy for your guys’ Neal gushed as Jones sat by, watching with a smile on his face. 

‘We’ve been talking about it forever and we finally took the plunge’ she explained. ‘I just found out last week so...’ she let her voice trail.

‘You and Christie are going to be great parents’ Neal said. ‘... and you know where you can come for advice, right?’

‘Well, it’s all very exciting but I have to admit, it’s also very scary’ she admitted.

‘I hear you, been there’ Neal said before adding with a dreamy look in his eyes. ‘...but trust me, it’s the most wonderful thing in the world.’

Diana smiled a radiant smile, wider than Neal had ever seen as he stood once again to give her another hug.

WCWCWC

The cries could be heard even before the elevator door opened on the 21st floor and Neal exchanged worried glances with both Jones and Diana before he stepped off and hurriedly made his way back to his ex-boss’ office. He noticed a few eyes being rolled as he hurried by; he had a feeling the crying might have been going on for more than a few minutes. Sounded like Peter had bitten off more than he could chew but Neal wasn’t prepared for what he saw as he reached the staircase and glanced up into the conference room.

There stood Peter holding Liam at arms’ length while the baby wailed, a tell-tale noxious odour emanating from the room.

‘Peter! What happened?’ he asked, over the loud wails.

‘I think he had a... a bowel movement’ Peter answered between unsteady gasps of air.

Neal could see a telltale brown coloured spot spreading on Liam’s rear end, all the way through the diaper and the now not so cute overalls. He quickly grabbed for a receiving blanket from Liam’s diaper bag before rescuing Peter from the awkward situation.

‘Oh, no!’ he said as he placed the blanket over Liam’s tush so he could safely take him from Peter. The word ‘diarrhea’ flashed in his mind, another in that long list of symptoms he’d read the night before on his computer screen.

Peter took a step back as Neal took over, a look of relief in the older man’s eyes.

‘I’ll be back. I just... need to step into my office for a minute’ he said, his voice unsteady as he scurried into his office, closing the door between the two rooms

Despite the urgency of the situation, Neal decided that comforting Liam was the first order of business despite the fact he was having difficulty breathing through his nose. He closed the door to the conference room in an attempt to muffle the loud wailing which could be heard echoing throughout the bull pen and he began the job of calming down his frantic son. 

After a few moments of holding him close and talking softly to him, Liam’s cries ultimately began to diminish as the baby fought to catch his breath between sobs, an obvious sign that he was slowing down. Neal soldiered on, waiting for his son to be calm enough before he lay him down to see to the messy job of changing his diaper – and in this case, his clothes.

‘I know baby, I know. It’s no fun is it?’ Neal said soothingly as he walked over and began to take the items he’d need out of the diaper bag. 

He got to work and although it took a few moments to get focussed, he began to clean up the mess right there on the very conference table where they had discussed cases countless times before. He removed the dirty clothes and diaper and carefully placed everything in a plastic bag while he expertly washed Liam’s little bum and began restoring order to the chaotic situation, all the while talking calmly to his son who, by now, was smiling up at him.

The cries having finally diminished, the door separating Peter’s office and the conference room opened tentatively and Peter peeked in, armed with a can of air freshener which he seemed to be holding up like a weapon as he took a few hesitant steps into the room. 

‘Why Agent Burke’ Neal said wryly as he looked up. ‘I see you decided to return to the scene of the crime.’

Over the years, Neal had seen Peter in dozens of life threatening situations not the least of which was standing up to dangerous criminals and facing down the barrel of a gun. He’d never seen the agent back down even in such extreme situations and yet, a poopy diaper had managed to get the better of him, sending him running off like a scared little girl.

‘I never knew you could run that fast, Peter!’ Neal said sarcastically as he lifted a now clean and happy Liam in his arms. 

Peter looked back, embarrassed by his cowardly behaviour. 

They were both oblivious to Jones, a few feet away, pointing his phone in their direction. This stuff was priceless and the evidence he was capturing could be used in oh so many situations down the line, he thought devilishly as he clicked away.

‘Oh, you’re bad!’ Diana said over his shoulder as Jones looked back at her and grinned.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Sara and Neal sat on the couch in the family room with their children sandwiched between them. They had made it home despite the persistent snow which had been upgraded from flurries to an outright storm, the weather office calling for six to eight more inches overnight. 

All four of them looked miserable as they stared blankly at the movie Neal had haphazardly thrown in the DVD player. Hope sniffled as she remained tucked in between her mom and dad, her eyes red and glassy, her temperature back up again and Liam moaned every so often as Neal held him on his lap while he sucked on the teething ring his dad had picked up on the way home. 

It was a picture of pure misery and Neal refused to accept that he’d been feeling a persistent tickle in his throat for the past hour or so. He put his arm around Sara, pulling the womenfolk closer to him and Liam and, from a distance, they looked like one giant blob instead of four distinct human beings as they remained huddled against each other.

‘Are you hungry?’ Sara asked her husband as she began to feel the familiar pangs in her stomach.

‘Uh, uh’ Neal answered, his eyes bleary.

It was past 11:00 and the kids were still up, having slept off and on since they’d gotten home that afternoon. Although Sara had breastfed Liam and Hope had managed to keep down a few ounces of apple juice, neither Neal nor Sara had had dinner and Sara was now feeling the need to eat something, although she couldn’t be bothered to move.

‘Do you want me to go get you something?’ Neal asked unenthusiastically.

‘Naw, it’s okay. Don’t move’ she answered as she leaned in a little closer to him, squeezing Hope between them.

‘At least Liam stopped crying’ he said, looking for that silver lining.

‘Yeah’ she responded listlessly as her eyes began to close.

‘Do you think we should all move upstairs?’ Neal asked, glancing in his wife’s direction.

‘Naw... too comfy’ she murmured as she felt herself melting in his side.

Hope coughed and Sara pulled her in a little tighter while Liam let out a little moan, Neal bouncing him on his knees a couple of times. They all stared ahead blankly at the screen while Aladdin and Jasmine flew through the air on their magic carpet. A whole new world indeed.

WCWCWC

On Saturday morning, Sara woke to the realization that Christmas was just three days away and she panicked; time was running out. Whether she liked it or not, she needed to face the crowds and get Neal that present – although she still hadn’t had any inspiration. She also needed to pick up that gift for Hope at the shopping mall; the singing microphone had been at the top of their daughter’s wish list and she’d been waiting two weeks for the store to call with the news that the toy had arrived. 

Neal, on the other hand, woke to a pounding headache which he chalked it up to spending half the night in a human heap on the family room couch. He wanted to get those Christmas lights sorted out; luckily, he remembered he’d bought some spare strings of lights and stashed them on that shelf in the garage the last time he’d hit Home Depot. The neighbourhood party was that night and although it was looking likely they wouldn’t be going this year, he still wanted the house to look nice. Maybe he’d even win the prize for best decorated house in absentia and he could collect his long coveted trophy in the morning.

‘Honey, I want to change those Christmas lights before you head out’ he said over a cup of coffee.

The kids were both still sleeping and they had a few moments of alone – and quiet – time, something they hadn’t had in a few days.

‘Okay. But I really have to make it to the mall today – do you think you can shovel us out?’ she asked.

The snowfall which had been promised had materialized overnight and now, the sun was shining brightly over the fresh white blanket, covering everything in their backyard. 

‘Yeah, just let me take a shower first, okay?’ he said groggily.

‘Oh, and don’t forget Peter and Elizabeth are coming by for lunch’ she added.

‘Oh yeah’ Neal moaned lethargically. ’I thought I’d just pop a quiche in the oven.’

Luckily, he always had a few meals stashed in the freezer for emergencies; in his present state, Neal wasn’t feeling up to making brunch from scratch. Sara looked up at her husband and wandered over to where he sat, settling in his lap as she placed a hand on his forehead.

‘You okay?’ she asked, concerned. ‘I sure hope you’re not getting whatever Hope has.’ 

‘Naw, I’m just really tired’ he said as he pulled her closer.

The quiet moment was interrupted as the house erupted to the sound of Liam crying all the way up from his room.

‘And so it begins’ Sara said as she kissed Neal’s forehead and prepared to collect their son from his crib.

WCWCWC

‘Well, you guys have a great time!’ Neal said as he and Sara walked the Burkes to the front door.

Peter and Elizabeth hadn’t wanted to stay too long; they were eager to hit the road while the weather was good. The drive to Peter’s parents place would take them a good four hours and they wanted to get there before the sun went down. The four of them had a quick bite while Hope snoozed nearby and Liam cooperated by playing in his highchair, much happier - and cleaner - than the last time Peter had seen him. 

‘And Hope...’ Elizabeth called back to her goddaughter. ‘...no peeking at those gifts until Christmas morning.’ 

‘Okay’ Hope answered rather listlessly as she lounged on the nearby couch, sucking on a popsicle.

‘Thanks for everything, you two’ Sara said as she hugged both Peter and Elizabeth. ‘And be safe.’

‘We will. And don’t forget, we’re doing New Years Eve when we get back’ Peter reminded them.

The Caffreys stood in the doorway, arms around each other, waving their friends off, both feeling a little lost without their usual anchors. Peter and El were always there it seemed and it felt strange to think of Christmas without them.

Neal turned to Sara and surmising her thoughts, he held her close as he spoke.

‘They’ll be back’ he said, his arms wound tight around her waist. 

‘It’ll be nice to be just the four of us for once’ he added as much for his benefit as for hers.

Sara smiled back, looking into her husband’s deep blue eyes and she pulled him in for a kiss, a nice lingering, juicy one which seemed to surprise Neal considering the circumstances.

‘What’s that all about?’ he murmured so Hope couldn’t hear.

‘Just a little down payment’ she said, playfully. ‘Maybe we can get the kids to bed at a decent hour tonight....’

‘Now there’s a thought’ Neal said, his voice growing gravelly. Her little overture suddenly had him interested and he brought his lip to her neck for a quick nuzzle.

‘Mmmm’ Sara moaned in agreement.

They hadn’t heard any movement but suddenly, Hope was standing there, trying to wedge herself between their tangled bodies. 

She tugged at her mom’s slacks. ‘Mommy, can I have another popsicle?'

WCWCWC

Neal made quick work of changing the string of lights on the house and he stood admiring his handiwork as he finished shovelling. Let it not be said that the Caffrey house was not properly decorated for the festive season. He was exhausted from the workout and once again, blamed his current state on his lack of sleep, choosing to ignore the lingering headache and persistent tickle in his throat. 

At least, Liam seemed a bit better. The teething ring he’d picked up on his way home the day before really seemed to help soothe the pain and despite the persistent redness in his cheeks and the bouts of diarrhea, he wasn’t fussing quite as much and they’d actually managed to get three straight hours of sleep once they’d finally made it to bed. Hope, on the other hand, was still running a fever and the flu symptoms were more along the lines of a runny nose, sore throat, chills and various aches and pains but she hadn’t thrown up since the night before which was an encouraging sign. Maybe they were finally turning the corner; it couldn’t get much worse than it had been over the past two days, that was for sure.

Neal thought of Sara’s little come on earlier; maybe tonight would be the night he’d finally get lucky. Having a rewarding (and regular) sex life was really a challenge with two young children in the house. Sara had recently recovered from a bout of post-partum depression following Liam’s birth – something which had thrown them both for a loop – and although the interest had clearly returned to resume their previously active sex life, the energy to act on it wasn’t always there.

He finished shovelling the driveway and pulled in one of the cars, leaving the other one on the street; Sara was heading out to do some shopping and she’d be leaving shortly anyway.

He made his way back inside to find Sara already with her coat on, ready to hit the stores.

‘You sure you’ll be okay for a couple of hours on your own?’ she asked.

He gave her an eye roll – the famous Caffrey one – before responding. ‘Oh, ye of little faith’ he said, jostling her 

‘Hey’ he called as she prepared to leave. ‘Get me something nice, huh?’

WCWCWC

The afternoon wasn’t bad, considering the last few days of ups and downs, and Neal even found the time to do a little bit of baking. He’d wanted to make some pies for their Christmas dinner and he congratulated himself on having the forethought to freeze some of those strawberries he’d picked from their backyard last June. No one had been more surprised than Neal to find that he’d readily taken to the whole gardening thing; he loved tending to the flower beds and small fruit bushes he’d planted when they’d moved into their house almost five years before. As hard as it had been to leave Manhattan behind, there were definite advantages to living in the suburbs not the least of which had been having a garden and a backyard for the kids to play in. 

‘Do you need me to put in another DVD?’ he called out to Hope who was curled up on the couch.

He took a few steps when she didn’t respond and immediately noticed she was sound asleep once more. He moved to turn off the television set and glanced at Liam who was in his playpen, happily playing with a few of the toys littered nearby.

‘Hey buddy’ he said as he walked over. ‘How’s your diaper?’ 

In light of his present state, it was important to keep on top of the diaper changing situation and Neal lifted him out of his playpen as the baby squawked at the interruption in his play. Neal gave an obligatory sniff of his bottom and satisfied that all was well, he carried him over to his high chair so he could feed him a few bites of the rice cereal he’d recently graduated to. Neal settled him down, giving him a toy to keep him busy while he prepared to mix the unappetizing mush.

The phone rang just as he gave Liam the first bite, Liam digging in gratefully.

‘It’s Mommy’ Neal whispered, glancing at the display and winking. ‘She probably wants to tell us she loves us.’ 

‘What did you forget?’ he asked teasingly as he put the phone to his ear.

‘Mr. Caffrey?’ he heard the male voice say.

‘Yes’ he answered hesitatingly. ‘Who’s this?’

‘This is Officer Mallory from NYPD, sir. Your wife has been involved in a car accident.’

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

‘An accident?’ Neal repeated, louder than he’d meant to.

Liam looked up at his dad, startled by the loud noise and he began to whimper as Neal momentarily moved away so he could hear what the officer was saying. He could feel his stomach lurching and he swallowed hard to keep from gagging, afraid to hear the details of what had happened.

‘Sir, she seems fine but her airbag deployed and she did lose consciousness for about a minute’ the officer said.

‘Can I talk to her?’ Neal asked, suddenly needing to hear the reassuring sound of his wife’s voice.

‘Yes sir, just a minute’ came the voice on the other end.

Neal could hear some talking and traffic noises in the background as Sara’s voice came on the line, sounding shaky. 

‘Neal, I’m fine’ she said, although he immediately had his doubts. ‘The police insisted on calling you because they say I lost consciousness.’

Neal frowned at the way she’d said that; leave it to Sara to downplay the situation.

‘Are you hurt?’ he asked as Liam continued to gurgle nearby, struggling to reach for the nearby bowl of cereal.

‘I don’t know... I don’t think so but they don’t want to let me go because of.... because I passed out’ she said her voice unsteady.

‘Okay honey, I’m coming to get you’ he said trying to sound reassuring and in control of the situation – which he most definitely was not. His mind moved into overdrive as he tried to figure out how he was going to get himself and two sick kids out of the house in record time.

‘Where are you?’

The next thing Neal knew, the officer was back on the line, giving him their exact location.

‘Sir, I really think you should have your wife checked out for internal injuries, just in case. She likely has a concussion as well’ the man explained.

Neal nodded and realized he needed to say something audible in response. ‘Yes...yes... I’ll be there as soon as I can. Can someone stay with her until I get there?’

‘Yes, sir. Would you prefer we call an ambulance?’ the man asked.

‘I can be there in fifteen minutes’ Neal said, realizing that was a rather ambitious estimate. ‘Do you think she needs an ambulance?’

‘I don’t think so but we won’t hesitate to call one if the situation warrants it. We’re cleaning up the scene so we’ll be here a while yet. We’ll wait for you to get here’ the man answered.

‘All right, thanks’ Neal said, wondering what ‘cleaning up the scene’ meant.

He glanced over at his children and immediately jumped into action - faster than he ever remembered doing in his life.

WCWCWC

Neal did his best to remain calm as he drove the short distance to the White Plains Mall, mere minutes from their house, cursing the heavy holiday traffic as he went. In a pale imitation of his wife, he had rushed through the house, frantically gathering things to put into Liam’s diaper bag as Hope got her backpack ready with a few snacks and things she might need to keep busy when they got to the hospital. It was three days before Christmas – a Saturday to boot – and the emergency room would likely be filled to capacity as doctors’ offices closed for the holidays. Hope was more alert than she’d been in a couple of days and although she’d been annoyed at having to get off the comfy couch, she was now securely buckled into the back seat of the car, trying to keep Liam quiet while her dad drove hastily to the busy intersection located just a couple of blocks away from their local mall.

There was a lot of glass and twisted metal at the scene and when Neal pulled up, he could see a commotion at the intersection where a number of cars were parked by the side of the road including their badly damaged Mazda alongside three police cruisers. He barely recognized the car, which had obviously been hit from both the front and the back, and he pulled over, parking securely away from the scene.

‘Honey, do you think you can keep Liam calm while I go check on Mommy?’ he asked of his daughter, one hand already on the door handle. ‘I’ll be right over there, see?’ he said, pointing to where Sara stood alongside a couple of other people including five or six police officers. 

He glanced at Hope in the rear view mirror as she pulled out a book from her backpack, ostensibly to keep her crying baby brother occupied for a few minutes.

‘Is Mommy okay?’ she asked, worried.

‘She’s fine, see?’ he said with false bravado. ‘I’ll be right back, stay in the car.’

He stepped out onto the pavement and booked it towards Sara who remained standing along with the other drivers, all looking shell shocked. At first glance, he could see three vehicles in a state of disrepair although their small car had definitely taken the brunt of the impact. He wondered how Sara could be standing there looking like her usual self when she’d obviously been rear-ended and gone crashing into the car ahead of her.

‘Neal!’ she called out, her voice shaky, as she spotted him running towards her.

‘Sara!’ he cried out as he instinctively opened his arms to hug her. 

He felt her recoil in pain and he immediately pulled out of the embrace so he could look her over more carefully; her face had a few tiny cuts, contusions were forming under her left eye and she was holding her stomach – a worrisome gesture that immediately got Neal’s attention. 

‘Where does it hurt, honey?’ he asked as he studied her up down.

She was about to respond when someone came up behind them calling his name. 

‘Are you Mr. Caffrey?’ came a voice Neal recognized.

‘Yes... yes I am’ Neal said as he put out his hand to shake the officer’s hand. ‘Thank you for staying with my wife.’

‘Well, I think she got away without too much damage which is more than I can say for your car, I’m afraid’ he said, pointing to the wreck nearby. ‘But I’m no doctor so I strongly encourage you to have her looked at.’

Neal nodded in agreement. ‘What happened?’ 

‘Your wife was stopped at a red light behind this guy’ he said as he pointed to a nearby truck whose rear end was totalled. ‘And she was rear ended by this guy.’

Neal checked out the pile of rubble and felt a pang of guilt – why didn’t he just pulled the car into the driveway instead of their SUV? Maybe she would have been better protected from the impact in the larger vehicle. He kept his arm snugly around Sara’s shoulder, feeling her unsteadiness as she shook against him. Suddenly, his priority shifted to getting her to the hospital as soon as possible although his eyes were still drawn to what used to be their car. 

‘What about...’ Neal began before the officer interrupted. 

‘Don’t worry about the car. We’ll have everything towed away. Just make sure she gets the care she needs and don’t forget to let your insurance company know what happened’ he said as Neal began to slowly guide Sara towards their one functioning vehicle.

They’d taken a few steps when he felt her stumble, slowing for an instant as she tried to regain her balance. The next thing he knew, she was pulling away from him and doubling over to empty the contents of her stomach by the edge of the road as passersby looked on. Neal held her arm tightly, feeling her sway and he swallowed hard as his own stomach rumbled at the sight. After a moment, she stood and collected herself, giving him an apologetic glance as he pulled her in against him and the two of them made their way back to the car where Liam and Hope sat waiting for their parents.

Now that he had her safe by his side, he could feel himself beginning to shake, the adrenaline which had been pumping through his veins slowly starting to fade. She was feeling the same and just as he opened the car door for her to step in, she turned back and, nerves finally getting the better of her, she threw herself in his arms, softly sobbing.

‘It’s okay, it’s okay’ Neal said reassuringly, rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her. ‘You’re okay, baby. I’m here now, I’m here.’

They stood glued to each other for a brief moment, Sara in her husband’s reassuring embrace and she finally relaxed, suddenly aware of their surroundings. She glanced into the back seat where she could hear Liam’s persistent cries. Neal settled her into the front seat, pulling her seatbelt on securely as he always did for the kids and he made his way to his side of the car, his body shaking.

‘It’s okay, Liam, don’t cry’ Sara said as she attempted to turn in her seat to comfort her son.

‘Sara, he’s fine. Try to relax, all right?’ Neal said as he grabbed for her hand.

‘Mommy, are you okay?’ Hope asked, her voice small.

‘I’m fine sweetie’ Sara said, trying to sound reassuring as she pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the car window. ‘I just need to let the doctor check me out.’

‘See Liam, I told you she was all right’ said big sister Hope reassuringly as she handed Liam the teething ring which had fallen out of his grasp.

Neal let out a shaky laugh at the sweet gesture and he glanced nervously at his wife who was looking back at him with the same worried look.

WCWCWC

The drive to the hospital seemed agonizingly slow although now that Sara was sitting beside him, Neal was calmer than he’d been before. The drive over to the scene of the accident had been far worse as his imagination had run rampant with scenarios of what he’d find when he finally got there. As they got closer to the hospital, Liam settled down somewhat and everyone was momentarily quiet as he continued to weave in and out of traffic. 

Neal had chalked up the constant flutter in his stomach to the events of the afternoon but he was increasingly aware that the nausea he’d been feeling since before the fated phone call continued to linger and he could no longer deny the persistent headache and aches and pains he’d been feeling all day. He would have given his right arm to go lie down and rest but instead, he prepared for what would likely be a long, agonizing wait in the emergency room of White Plains Hospital. Despite his own aches and pains, he had a more immediate problem: making sure Sara was all right.

He parked in the designated area and took a moment to figure out the logistics of getting all four of them safely inside to the triage area. Keeping Liam in his car seat seemed like his best bet even though the contraption was bulky and cumbersome. If they were going to be there for any length of time, he’d be able to nap safely in his seat. Hope could get herself inside on her own steam but Sara was looking unsteady so Neal made it to her side of the car and holding the car seat in his hands, he got Sara to latch on to him to safely make the short trek inside.

‘Hope, can you handle the two bags?’ he asked his daughter who followed close behind.

And with that, the Caffrey clan made its way into the emergency room of White Plains Hospital.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

The good news was that Sara Ellis’ condition had been deemed a high priority case; the bad news was that, no matter how you sliced it, the wait in the busy emergency room was going to be painfully long. Luckily, she’d been evaluated within minutes of her arrival by the triage nurse and almost immediately examined by the ER doctor who requested a battery of tests in order to properly diagnose and treat any potential internal injuries. Sara was then returned to the waiting room where she sat alongside her husband and children to wait for the next diagnostic procedure in the long list of tests which had been ordered by the doctor. 

She sat with her head nestled against Neal’s shoulder, slipping in and out of sleep while Liam snoozed nearby in his car seat and Hope sat on the other side of her dad, her head in his lap as she looked at a book. Neal himself was doing a great job of camouflaging the now undeniable fact that he’d been hit big time with the flu which had afflicted their daughter for the past 48 hours. He had the telltale fever and chills and his stomach had been flip flopping between visits to the nearby washroom where, unbeknownst to Sara, he’d taken refuge on two occasions to empty its contents only to return with a big smile on his face. Being in a waiting room with a lot of vulnerable, sick people probably wasn’t the most strategic of moves on his part but Neal was determined to stick by his wife until she got a proper diagnosis and he could safely bring her home.

He felt her stirring against his shoulder and she sat up, her own eyes unfocussed as she looked over at him, finally beginning to clue in to what was going on.

‘Neal, you’re burning up’ she said as she pulled away from his body which was radiating heat like an overheated Coleman stove.

‘I’m fine. I’m just tired’ he lied with a weak smile.

‘You are not fine’ she said, looking into his eyes and noticing how red and glassy they were.

She reached over to feel his forehead and despite a last minute movement on his part to dodge her probing hand, she succeeded, frowning at what she’d discovered. 

‘You are running a fever’ she said with authority. ‘Honey, why don’t you go home with the kids – I’ll be fine here on my own.’ 

In an effort to distract her, Neal lifted his arm up around her shoulder and pulled her in against his chest, hoping to move her probing gaze away from his face – which had apparently given him away.

‘I’m not leaving you here alone. You probably have a concussion and God knows what else’ he said with as much firmness as he could muster in his present state.

She shook her head in response, unable to think of an argument to counter her husband’s obstinate stance. Her head was throbbing and consequently she was in no fit state to try to outsmart the smartest guy she’d ever met. She settled in against his warm body, finding comfort there as she always did and she let out a long, slow breath.

‘I’m sorry about the car’ she said, her voice quiet.

‘Don’t worry about the car, it’s the least of our worries’ Neal said as he gave her a squeeze. ‘I’m just so relieved you’re going to be okay.... you have no idea how scared I was...’ he said, his voice trailing.

She laughed sardonically as she let herself settle into his side. ‘Can you believe the last couple of days?’ she asked rhetorically as Neal moaned in response.

If bad luck came in threes, they had definitely had their fair share what with Hope getting the flu, Liam being so miserable and now this unexpected twist of fate which had landed them all in the ER waiting room on a Saturday night.

Hope moved on Neal’s lap and she looked up into her parents’ eyes.

‘I’m hungry’ she said as they both chuckled.

‘Well, that’s a good sign’ Neal said as Sara moved out of his grasp momentarily.

‘Do you want to get yourself something from that vending machine?’ Neal asked, pointing to the contraption nearby.

Hope nodded enthusiastically. It was loaded with junk food and her dad would have no choice but to break the sacred rule of healthy eating – for once. Neal reached into his pocket and handed his daughter a couple of singles as she stood and sauntered over to the machine, her old usual self.

‘No chocolate!’ Neal admonished as she turned to look at him with a scowl.

‘Mrs. Caffrey!’ they heard from the nearby door. ‘We’re ready for your MRI.’

WCWCWC

It was past 9:30 on a Saturday night and the Caffreys were still sitting in the ER, more than five hours after they’d arrived. The place was rocking with cases of flu, various injuries, cuts, bruises, broken bones and dozens of other, less discernible ailments. Sara had repeatedly tried to convince Neal to go home with the kids but he’d been insistent; he wasn’t about to leave his concussed wife alone in the ER, no matter what she said. All the necessary tests had been carried out and the foursome waited patiently for the doctor to meet with Sara and share the findings from the many procedures she’d been subjected to including a brain scan, an MRI, an ultrasound and some X-rays.

Try as he might to stay alert, Neal had fallen asleep, his head lolling to one side as Sara sat holding Liam and Hope munched on a bag of chips, her third ‘treat’ since they’d arrived. Despite the persistent pain in her ribs, Sara had managed to nurse Liam. He’d finished the one and only bottle Neal had thrown in his diaper bag hours ago and he was obviously hungry. He fussed in her arms as she gingerly moved him to her other breast, trying to discretely nurse him despite the prying eyes in the jam-packed waiting room. 

As well as the pain flaring up incessantly in her ribs, her head was throbbing from the impact of the air bag on her face and neck and she was aching all over despite the meds they’d given her for the pain and discomfort. 

Hope looked up at her mom, her eyes tired and red and moaned with her usual dramatic flair. 

‘I want to go hoooome’ she whined with an exaggerated pout.

‘I know, honey. So do I’ Sara said with a forced smile. ‘It shouldn’t be much longer.’

Liam was fussing and he began to cry again, as he’d been doing off and on since they’d arrived.

This had to be some kind of private hell reserved just for parents, thought Sara: waiting for hours in an enclosed space with two cranky kids and two barely functional adults. 

Neal stirred, his eyes glassy as he turned towards his wife.

‘Sara! What are you doing? You shouldn’t be holding him’ he said as he reached out to take Liam from her arms.

She winced in pain. ’He’s hungry, Neal. It’s fine’ she said rather harshly. 

He grimaced in response to her curt comeback.

‘And unless you’ve recently grown a pair of knockers I know nothing about’ she added in that acerbic tone of voice he knew all too well, ‘I’m the one who’s stuck feeding him.’

Neal glared at his wife. As usual, no one cut through crap like Sara Ellis did. It was difficult to say which one of them was in worse shape. Although the flu wasn't a life threatening ailment, it was painfully debilitating and he forced himself to smile at her caustic comment through the nausea and the pounding in his head. Life had been rough the last few days but despite the ups and downs, they were together and they had each other, no matter what.

‘I love you Repo’ he said suddenly, not at all what she expected to hear.

She couldn’t help but smile at him through the many aches and pains presently racking her body.

‘Thank God for that’ she said with a chuckle. 

Neal took Liam in his arms and brought him to rest on his chest and the baby began to settle once more. Sara laced her arm into Neal’s, settling her head on his shoulder as Hope moved in to cuddle her dad on the other side. 

They were quite the foursome, united in hardship, against all odds.

WCWCWC

They were finally ushered into a small examination room just past 10:30; the wait finally over. A young woman walked in, clad in a lab coat, a stethoscope hanging from her neck.

‘Well, hello’ she said as she glanced around the room at the tired faces. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d have to ask which one of you is the patient.’

‘My mommy was in car accident’ Hope said, in case clarification was really necessary.

The doctor laughed at Hope’s comment. ‘I know, sweetie. I’m Dr. Williams. What’s your name?’  
‘Hope Ellis-Caffrey’ she responded politely.

‘Well, Hope Ellis-Caffrey, it’s nice to meet you’ she said shaking her hand as Sara and Neal watched with interest.

‘Your mommy is going to be just fine’ she said as she turned her attention to Sara.

‘Mrs. Caffrey, you’re suffering from a mild concussion, bruised ribs and some contusions around your hips due to the seat belt you were wearing’ she explained as Sara listened, a little out of it from the pain medication they’d given her.

‘I’m prescribing something for the aches and pains which will likely linger for a few days and I’d like you to see your family doctor after the holidays just to monitor your cuts and bruises’ she added as Neal did his best to stay alert – well alert enough to get the gist of what the doctor was saying.

‘I’m also prescribing sleep for all four of you. You all look dead on your feet’ she added as she looked into Neal’s hazy, unfocussed eyes. ‘Hopefully, you’ll all be well enough to enjoy Christmas,’

At the doctor’s mention of the holiday, Hope piped up, obviously the more alert of the foursome at this point.

‘Santa’s coming to my house at Christmas’ she said with a bright smile.

‘Well, maybe you can ask Santa to make everyone in your family healthy again’ said the doctor as she exited leaving the exhausted family eager to get home to their respective beds.

WCWCWC

By 11:00, they were safely back in their quiet neighbourhood. Neal looked longingly over at the Sterling house across the street, noticing the lights were still on. Cheryl and Don Sterling were hosting the street Christmas party this year and he briefly wished he and Sara were sitting in their living room, sipping on a festive drink instead of dealing with sick kids and car accidents. 

Sara needed help to walk to the house; she was woozy, her legs unstable and her ribs were still screaming for attention despite the meds she’d been prescribed for pain. Neal walked her into the house as she babbled on uncharacteristically and he instructed her to sit on the couch and wait for his return while he went back out to get the kids who had both fallen asleep in the car on the way home. When he returned thirty seconds later, carrying both their sleeping offspring in his arms, he found her sound asleep on their living room couch right where he’d left her. He struggled up the stairs and got both kids settled into bed before returning for his sleeping wife who had moved on to some blissfully drugged state which he clearly envied at this point. He managed to rouse her enough to sling her arm around his neck and he supported her weight, both of them straining to walk to the base of the stairs where he finally gave up and scooped her up in his arms, struggling as he carried her up the staircase towards their bedroom.

Her eyes opened as he lifted her up into his arms and she looked at him with a look of confusion on her face as she kissed his fevered cheek.

‘This is just like our wedding night... at June’s’ she said, her voice languorous and her words slurred.

‘Well, not quite’ he replied, out of breath as he lumbered up the stairs.

‘I love you’ she said, her voice fading as Neal sniggered in response.

She grew silent and he thought she’d drifted off again as he struggled to maneuver her through the doorway to their bedroom.

‘Neal?...’ she moaned as she rested her head against his shoulder. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Honey I told you, there’s nothing to be sorry about’ he gasped as he struggled to take the last few steps with her dead weight in his tired arms.

‘You’re the best husband ev-’ she said, drifting off again mid-sentence.

Her body was relaxed against his and he let her fall with a thud onto their bed, struggling to get her out of her clothes and under the blankets just as Liam started crying again despite having a clean diaper and a full tummy. He couldn’t take much more and, deciding it was easier all around, he made a pit stop to the bathroom, took a dose of flu medication and headed into Liam’s room, scooping him up, handing him the teething ring and returning to his own bed where he tucked his son between him and his snoring wife. 

He had just drifted off himself when he heard Hope’s voice. He turned to find her standing next to him by the bed.

‘Daddy, I can’t sleep’ she said. ‘My tummy hurts.’

Neal thought of all the junk food she’d ingested – it was no wonder her stomach was rebelling. 

‘Come on up’ he said as he lifted her up onto the conjugal bed which had now morphed into the family bed. 

He settled her next to her baby brother, his arm wrapped around her small body and gave her a quick peck on the forehead as he let his head fall back on the pillow.

It grew blissfully quiet and Neal closed his eyes, hoping they would all have a peaceful night’s sleep. 

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Neal moaned as he slept... and dreamed. Ever since his accident the previous winter, Neal had begun to have bright, vivid dreams. He was still being monitored at the Brain Injury Clinic at Lenox Hill where he’d been treated although his check-ins took place every six weeks now instead of the weekly appointments he’d had immediately after the accident. The memory loss he’d suffered had caused a great deal of anguish for Neal as he’d struggled to put the pieces of his life with Sara back together and many times, his recollections would come in the form of vivid, colourful dreams where he witnessed bits and pieces of his life being played out before his eyes. Of course, sometimes his dreams were just that, whimsical forays into his subconscious but whenever he dreamed of Sara and Hope, he would jot the particulars on a piece of paper he kept on his bedside table so he could check the facts with his wife, adding the new memory to his ever increasing patchwork of recollections.

When Neal next opened his eyes to the sound of Liam’s soft moaning, it was 7:30 on Sunday morning. The trio of bodies to his left were still blissfully unconscious and he studied their faces as he took stock of his own state, noting that although the aches and pains associated with fever remained, his stomach had finally settled. It was still unusual for Liam to sleep through the night and he reached over his daughter’s sleeping form to touch his son’s face, noticing how warm he was. Liam squawked in reaction to the gentle touch causing Hope to open her eyes.

She looked straight at her dad, bright eyed and bushy tailed. ‘Daddy? Are we going to the parade?’

‘Oh, honey… Mommy and I are really not feeling well...’ he began, watching as her smile melted into a frown. 

‘But, you said...’ she began as she tried to keep from falling apart.

‘I know, sweet pea, we did say we’d go but Mommy needs to rest and I’ve got your nasty flu, now’ he said, tickling her.

She let out a giggle despite her disappointment.

‘Tell you what, though’ Neal added. ‘How about you and I spend some time in the studio today? I still need to put the finishing touches on Mommy’s present and you can keep working on that drawing of Olivia you were working on.’

She shrugged. It sure as hell wasn’t as good as going to the Santa Claus parade but spending time with her dad in the studio ranked up there as one of her top three favourite things in life and in light of the situation, it would have to do.

‘Okay’ she finally relented, disappointment apparent on her face. ‘I’m going to go read in my room.’

Neal watched as she climbed out of bed and sulked out, returning his attention to the other two occupants of the bed. 

Sunday... two more shopping days ‘till Christmas and he still needed to pick something up for Sara and get the food sorted out which meant another fun trip to the grocery store. 

Liam’s inert body lay next to his sleeping mom and Neal returned his hand to his son’s forehead, noticing his sleeper was soaked through from a full bladder and what he now deduced was a fever. With his head pounding, Neal moved gingerly, lifting a moaning, sleeping Liam from the bed and carrying him across the hall to his room to see to his pressing needs. Contrary to the last two days when he’d been crying almost incessantly, Liam lay unresponsive and Neal coaxed him into opening his eyes for a moment, getting a fleeting glimpse of his beautiful green eyes before he returned to his restless sleep.

Neal carried the baby over to Hope’s room and stood in the doorway, watching as his daughter lay on the bed, unaware of his presence. He could hear her struggling to sound out the words, mostly from memory after having had this particular book read to her on countless occasions.

‘Honey?’ he interrupted. ‘Do you want to come down and help me make breakfast?’

Although ingesting anything more than a glass of juice was too much for his stomach to handle, he could at least give his daughter a good, healthy breakfast after her night of debauchery with the infamous vending machine in the White Plains Hospital ER.

The threesome made their way down to the kitchen where Neal began the painful process of preparing breakfast for his daughter. Liam was overdue for a bottle but, despite his efforts to rouse him, Neal couldn’t get him to open his eyes long enough to stick a bottle in his mouth. Instead, he placed him in his swing and cranked up the motor watching as the little guy began to swing to and fro, his little head drooping to one side.

Neal reached into the kitchen cupboard, grabbing for a bottle of Tylenol to ease his throbbing headache. When he turned around, Hope was standing there with a glass of juice in her hand.

‘Here Daddy’ she said as she offered it to him. ‘When I was sick, I didn’t feel like eating.’

Neal smiled at his daughter, reaching out to take the glass from her hand. ‘Thanks, sweet pea’ he said as he grabbed her nose and tugged gently.

WCWCWC

By 9:30, Sara made an appearance just as Neal was getting cozy on the couch in the family room. He watched her amble in unsteadily towards the kitchen, looking slightly hung over, something Neal had witnessed on a couple of occasions in their married life. 

‘Hey you!’ he called out, startling her.

She turned to face him, the small cuts on her face still apparent and the large bruise on her left cheek an even darker shade of purple. She held her stomach and tiptoed over to where he sat on the couch with Hope playing nearby.

‘I want to say you look like hell’ she began before frowning and glancing in Hope’s direction. ‘But I have a feeling I look even worse than you do.’

Neal laughed softly and stood to meet her halfway.

‘Here, sit down. I’ll get you some coffee’ he said, leading her towards the nearby couch.

‘I can get it!’ Hope said as she stood, bouncy and full of life.

Neal and Sara exchanged looks as they both headed back to the couch to sit and wait.

‘Don’t fill it up too much!’ Sara admonished as they watched their five-year-old make her way to the coffee maker and pour a cupful of Italian Roast into Sara’s favourite mug.

‘How much milk?’ she asked.

‘No milk this morning honey, just black’ Sara replied from her spot on the couch.

They watched as Hope walked slowly towards them, the cup of coffee teetering in her small hands. 

There was a knock at the door – considering all their friends and family were out of town, the couple looked at each other quizzically and Neal stood to see who the visitor was.

‘Charlie, hi!’ Neal said in greeting as he opened the door and invited the neighbour in from the cold.

He looked expectantly at the man; could he be delivering the exciting news that Neal had won the home decorating contest?

‘We missed you last night at the party’ Sara heard Charlie say from the front of the house. ‘But I hear you’ve got your hands full with the kids being sick. I remember one year when our kids were little, we all got the flu and we spent Christmas day in bed watching movies.’

Neal smiled politely wishing Charlie would get to the point; he was the chatty neighbour, the one you tried to duck from whenever you were in a hurry.

‘Anyway, I can see you’re not feeling great yourself. I just wanted to drop by some leftovers from the party last night – Myrtle’s world famous fruitcake...’ he said as he handed Neal a container of food.

Neal hated fruitcake but he nodded gratefully nonetheless.

‘Oh, and you won second prize in the contest so here’s a gift certificate from Home Depot’ he said as Neal’s smile returned.

‘Let me guess’ he said, sounding defeated. ‘Jeff again?’

‘Afraid so’ Charlie said. ’That Santa on the roof bit put him right over the top...’

Damn Jeff Mason! He was Neal’s closest friend on the street but he was also his fiercest competitor and he always seemed to edge Neal out at the last minute. Neal would never hear the end of it when Jeff finally made it back from Florida next week.

He took the gift certificate from Charlie’s hand and shivered, hoping the older man would take the hint.

‘Anyway, if you need anything, let us know’ Charlie said as he put his gloves back on and prepared to leave. ‘Myrtle and I are right next door and we’re glad to help in any way we can. And don’t worry… if it snows again, I’ll come over with the snowblower.’ 

‘Thanks Charlie, that’s mighty neighbourly of you’ Neal said as he opened the door to let the man out. ‘You two have a Merry Christmas now!’

He walked to the back of the house and stood between the kitchen and family room as Sara glanced up, seeing her husband standing there with a large Tupperware container..

‘Let me guess, more of Myrtle’s fruitcake’ she said, unimpressed.

‘Well, at least we won’t go hungry if I don’t make it to the grocery store’ he said as he moved to the kitchen to put away the gift in the freezer.

‘I think I’d rather go hungry’ Sara said as she let her head drop on the couch.

WCWCWC

After dinner on Sunday night, Neal was still feeling pretty rough but Hope, who was on the upswing, recuperating from her bout with the flu, coaxed him down to the studio for an hour or so. He’d been working on a painting for Sara’s collection - this time, a painting of him and Liam which she had ‘commissioned’ a few weeks before. He still wanted to get her a nice piece of jewelry and he hoped he would be well enough to hit the store on Monday, his last chance before the big day. 

He thought of all the gift wrapping they still had to do – a chore he usually left up to his wife – and he bristled at the thought. She’d probably need help with that this year and although his gifts were always over the top, he was all thumbs when it came to gift wrapping. 

Sara had slept most of the day and by dinner time, she’d already been looking a little more chipper and she’d eaten a small portion of the lasagna Neal had thawed and reheated. 

Liam, however, remained a concern. He’d been listless all day, was running a fever which hovered just above 101 and he’d refused to drink all day, preferring to sleep restlessly wherever they put him down. His cheeks were flushed and he had a hacking cough that was most disconcerting and seemed to be getting worse as the day wore on. Even his newfound love of rice cereal hadn’t been enough to convince him to ingest anything and by 10:00 on Sunday night, Neal sat at the computer reading about flu symptoms in infants and getting increasingly worried.

‘It says here, dehydration is the main concern...’ he said to Sara who sat nearby, nursing a cup of tea. ‘...and a baby with a fever of more than 101 should be seen by a doctor.’ 

Sara looked down at Liam who was lying next to her on the couch and gently touched his hand as he twitched and began to cough again.

‘His skin is clammy. His cough is getting worse, Neal’ she said with concern.

‘We haven’t had to change his diaper since noon’ Neal echoed, worried. ‘Do you want to try nursing him again?’ 

Sara picked Liam up and tucked him into her arms, bringing him to her breast and wincing as the pain in her ribs flared up. 

‘Liam’ she said softly. ‘come on baby, have something to drink…please.’ 

He opened his eyes, letting out a wet cough and Neal and Sara exchanged worried looks.

‘I think we should have him looked at’ Neal said.

The last thing they needed was another visit to the hospital a mere twenty-four hours after their marathon from the night before. Sara looked at her husband, her eyes worried and shrugged.

‘Look, you go to bed and get some rest and I’ll take him over’ he said as he leaned in to take their son from his mom’s arms.

He looked into Sara’s eyes, noting the tears forming and he kissed her forehead. ‘It’s probably just the flu, babe. They’ll give us something to bring his fever down and we’ll just keep him comfortable until he feels better. It’ll be okay, you’ll see’ he said, not sure he believed his own words.

They worked together to put Liam into his snowsuit as he lay there sleeping and within minutes, Neal was out the door, carrying their son as Sara watched, worry etched on her distorted face.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

By the time Neal returned to the quaint little house on Meadowbrook Street it was 1:45 on Monday morning, Christmas Eve. He was surprised to see the glow from the Christmas tree lights visible through the living room curtains of the house; Sara must still be up. 

He was feeling reassured following his latest visit to the hospital, knowing that Liam would be fine in another day or so if they followed the doctor’s advice, kept him well hydrated and continued to carefully monitor his fever. He, himself, was feeling marginally better, his fever finally receding although he was exhausted from the long hours and lack of sleep. 

Soft snow fell on what was a much milder night and Neal lifted his sleeping son from his car seat and prepared to carry him into the house. It was a perfect Christmas Eve landscape and Neal took a moment to enjoy the quiet, muted scene as he stepped into the house.

‘What are you still doing up?’ he asked as he spied his wife sitting on the floor by the Christmas tree.  
‘I thought you’d be sound asleep.’

Sara sat, surrounded by an array of wrapping paper, gift bags, ribbons, tape, stockings, boxes and packages and she had a pile of wrapped gifts off to one side. She stood to welcome her boys home, rushing to take Liam from Neal’s arms so he could get his coat and boots off.

‘I slept for a little while but then... I just thought I’d get going on all the gift wrapping’ she answered, a frown on her face. ‘So how did it go?’

‘It’s all good’ Neal whispered as he kissed her forehead and reached out to take Liam back into his arms. ‘Why don’t I get him settled and I’ll meet you upstairs?’

Sara relaxed somewhat at Neal’s response and kissed her son goodnight watching in relief as his eyes fluttered open and he smiled at her, something he hadn’t done much in the last few days. She tucked the unwrapped gifts away from prying eyes and made her way upstairs, settling into the cozy bed to wait for Neal. She could hear his reassuring voice from across the hall as he spoke to Liam, the spoken words effortlessly morphing into soft singing and within moments, Neal appeared in the doorway to their bedroom, looking totally done in. She watched him undress, his shoulders slumped in a way she wasn’t used to seeing, exhausted from having spent hours waiting in the emergency room for the second night in a row. 

‘Hey’ she called out softly as she opened her arms to him.

He settled onto the bed, his head resting on her chest and he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, searching for the comfort he was so badly in need of.

‘Ow, ow, ow’ Sara moaned as Neal pulled her in a little too tight.

‘Sorry, sorry, sorry...’ he said, cringing. 

He pulled back and let her position his arm on the least painful part of her stomach, somewhere between her bruised ribs and the large contusion that encircled her hips.

‘Better?’ he asked, not daring to move. He felt her nod against him and he curled up into a ball, feeling the comforting warmth of Sara’s arms as she began placing soothing little kisses on the top of his head, her hand gently caressing his shoulder.

‘Are you okay?’ she asked, concern obvious in her voice.

‘No… but I’ll be fine. Just feeling a little rough, that’s all’ he said as the worry of the last few hours began to fade at her touch.

‘So...’ she asked, anxious to hear the detail of the hospital visit.

‘Well, it’s the flu and he was just really dehydrated so they put him on an IV for about an hour...’ he began as Sara let out a gasp.

‘Honey, it’s no big deal. Dr. Williams said they often need to do that with babies his age. She gave me some Pedialyte which we need to give him for the next twenty-four hours until he’d taking in his usual levels of milk and she prescribed something for his fever. Oh, and she says hi and asked how you were feeling?’ he added.

He could feel Sara smiling against him, relieved at the prognosis for their little guy.

‘So we should check on him in a couple of hours and get him to drink something’ he added as he nuzzled against her, practically purring.

They hadn’t had more than five minutes alone over the past three days and their usual late night cuddle and share sessions had been highjacked by sick kids and other unexpected – and unwelcome – circumstances.

‘Peter called while you were out’ she said quietly. ‘He wants you to call him tomorrow.’

‘Oh yeah?’ Neal said. ‘How are they doing?’

‘Well, Peter was complaining that there was a lot of noise in the house with his sisters’ kids running around and he said he envied us for having a nice quiet Christmas’ Sara said, irony dripping from her voice.

Neal laughed softly; if only Peter knew that their run up to Christmas had been anything but calm and relaxing. The room grew quiet as the young couple enjoyed the warmth and comfort of their bodies wrapped around each other.

‘It’s Christmas Eve...’ Sara spoke softly, her voice faraway.

‘Yeah...’ Neal whispered back. ‘I need to go out for a while tomorrow. I want to pick up a couple of things and we need to get the food situation sorted out if we want something more than a can of beans for Christmas dinner.’

‘Well, don’t push yourself. I’m sure the kids would be happy with a can of beans as long as we get those Christmas presents under the tree’ Sara said with a soft laugh.

Neal grew quiet and Sara could feel him tensing up.

‘What’s the matter, sweetie?’ she asked.

‘Aww, it’s nothing...’ he said before deciding to come clean. There was no use trying to keep anything from his wife any more, not after everything they’d gone through over the past year. 

‘It’s just that Hope was talking about last Christmas and I couldn’t remember much of what she was talking about’ Neal said, his voice full of regret.

Sara sighed. This was a recurring thing with Neal as he slowly struggled to put the pieces of their lives from the past five years back together again. The memories were still coming at odd, unexpected moments - sometimes when he heard a song on the radio or when he tasted something vaguely familiar or whenever Hope or Sara mentioned an incident in passing that shook something loose in his subconscious. But it was never enough for Neal who continued to lament the fact that there were still some holes in his recollections. She felt him turn his head and look towards their chest of drawers, his eyes moving to the sculpture he’d given her as a gift the previous Christmas. She’d noticed him over the past few months, holding the object, running his hands over it, trying to recall the feeling he must have had as he molded the clay into the beautiful carving of his then pregnant wife. 

‘Honey, it is what it is. You have to stop beating yourself up about it’ she whispered lovingly.

‘I just wish I remembered making it for you. I know how excited we both were...’ he began his voice trailing.

‘Then just focus on that feeling. You know what Allison says, feelings are often what triggers the memory’ she added softly.

Allison Grant was Neal’s therapist at the Brain Injury Clinic and she’d seen him through the first few horrible months following his accident, helping him navigate the confusion and frustration as he struggled to remember his life as a married man and a father to Hope. He still had sessions with her every six weeks as issues continued to crop up; she’d been a godsend and Neal had been anxious lately, knowing she would be going on maternity leave in a couple of months. 

‘I had a dream last night’ he murmured quietly. ‘It was Hope’s first day of school and we watched her get on the bus with Olivia. Jeff and Donna were there, too... We followed the school bus and we parked and watched as she got off. She was holding Olivia’s hand...’ he added, his voice slow and his words purposeful as he recalled the vivid dream and hoped, as he did each time that it was an actual memory and not some random dream.

‘Yes!’ Sara said, pulling him tighter, thrilled as always whenever he recovered a new memory. ‘That’s exactly how it happened.’

She was used to it by now – Neal would run his dreams by her and her job was to let him know if what he’d dreamed had actually happened. Neal would always get excited whenever a new memory was recovered and he would tuck it away preciously in his conscious mind, nurture it lovingly, keeping it alive, playing it over and over again in his mind until he felt that he’d truly absorbed it, vowing to never let it go.

‘And then... you and I stopped at the drugstore...’ he continued in a trance, although the relevance of this part of the dream seemed unclear to him.

Sara waited, not wanting to prompt him into remembering more until it was absolutely necessary.  
Suddenly, Neal lifted his head and looked up at his wife, excitement in his eyes.

‘That was the morning we found out you were pregnant’ he said as the memory flooded back.

‘You were so excited...’ she said with a warm smile.

‘I remember sitting on the edge of the tub and you were sitting on the toilet with that pee stick in your hand, just staring at it...’ he continued his voice faraway, as it always was as he relived the events his body knew so well but his mind had momentarily forgotten.

He put his head back down against her bosom and Sara could feel him smiling against her. She felt him relax and she closed her eyes, feeling sleep invade her. One step at a time, they would get there. Together. 

Within seconds, they were both sound asleep.

WCWCWC

By 8:00, Sara and Hope were up, making plans for Christmas Eve dinner and discussing what should be left out for Santa that night: sugar cookies or a piece of the pie Neal had made. They were debating the subject vigorously when the phone rang and Sara got up to answer.

‘Is this Sara Ellis?’ the man at other end asked.

‘Yes it is. Who’s this?’ 

‘I’m with the Rogers and Sons wrecking yard, ma’am’ he began as Sara cringed at the word ‘ma’am’ which she hated with a passion. ‘We’ve got some of your personal belongings here which were left in your car on Saturday.’

‘Oh, my God’ Sara said as Hope looked up at her mom. ‘I completely forgot I had left stuff in the car.’

‘We’re open today until five if you want to come over and pick everything up’ he added before hanging up.

Sara had been on her way home on Saturday when the accident happened and she’d left all her purchases behind including a gift for Neal and Hope’s coveted sing along microphone as well as various items for everybody’s Christmas stockings. 

Despite still feeling sore and achy, her mind was clear at last and she began to think ahead to what needed to be done to make this a memorable Christmas for the four of them. Liam was looking much better already; she’d been up to nurse him twice during the night and his fever had finally gone down leaving him more alert. Neal, however, had been dead to world when she’d gotten up and she continued to worry about him. He always put everybody else’s needs ahead of his own and he needed to get some rest before he headed out to run those last minute errands.

‘Honey’ Sara said as she turned to Hope. ‘Didn’t you say Donna orders her groceries online?’

Hope nodded. She’d been along for the ride once when Donna had picked up her groceries from a local market.

‘Do you remember what store it was?’ Sara asked as she began poking around on the nearby laptop.

‘It’s the one near the soccer field’ Hope said as Sara clued in and began typing away.

Short cuts were the order of the day if they were going to get to Christmas Day at the same time as the rest of the world.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains references to 'Forget Me Not' and 'New Beginnings'


	10. Chapter 10

The sight that greeted Neal Caffrey as he came down the stairs of his home on Christmas Eve morning warmed the cockles of his heart. He watched from the staircase as his daughter sat in their living room, at the foot of the brightly lit tree, looking through the basket of Christmas books - no doubt searching for her favourite which Neal happened to know was ‘Little Bear’s Christmas’. He stood motionless and watched in silence, a quiet and content Liam in his arms, as she began to turn the pages, reading the words out loud, stumbling at times as she struggled to remember the story from memory.After all, that basket only made an appearance once a year, right around the time they put up the Christmas tree, and after the holidays, it was lovingly secreted away until the following December - which made its contents all the more special.

Neal had very _few_ happy childhood memories related to the holidays. After he had gone into witness protection with his mom and Ellen at the tender age of three, the women had tried to make the holidays special but he realized now that they had both been struggling with their inner demons and try as they might, the holiday season was always bittersweet. In hindsight, he realized how difficult it must have been for his mom to face Christmas alone, constantly reliving her husband’s deceit and eventual abandonment. As his dad’s partner, Ellen had had her life totally highjacked and she also found the holiday season difficult — it was a constant reminder that she could never have what she’d always dreamed of, a ‘normal’ life with a husband and children of her own. Despite her heartbreak, Ellen had always tried to rise to the occasion for Neal’s sake but circumstances were such that her efforts always fell just short of the mark.

Sara, on the other hand, had been exposed to some lovely traditions and she’d found a way to bring some of them into their new family - the Christmas basket being one of those holiday traditions. Every year, Sara would give Hope a special Christmas book, a beautifully illustrated hard cover book in which she would carefully inscribe the year and her loving wishes for her daughter, right on the inside cover. In the Caffrey household, that was the only gift that could be opened on Christmas Eve and tradition dictated that after Hope got into her pyjamas and got Santa’s snack ready, she would open the precious gift and carry it up to bed to look at as she prepared to fall asleep. The book then joined the others in the beautifully decorated wicker basket which was eventually tucked away until the following year when another new treasure would be added.

Neal stood, mesmerized, as he thought ahead to the coming years, imagining how the basket would eventually overflow with beautiful books as the years passed. This year, for the first time, there were _two_ books under the tree, including one for their son, for his very first Christmas. Liam made a gurgling sound in Neal’s arms as he gently tapped his dad’s face in order to get his attention and Neal nuzzled him, eliciting a small giggle. They continued on their way down the stairs, watching as Hope momentarily put down the book she’d been reading and moved on to the gifts under the tree, picking one up and shaking it just as her daddy came into view.

‘Hey, no peeking at the gifts before Christmas’ Neal reminded her.

‘I think this one is a board game’ she said, undeterred, as she continued to shake to her heart’s content.

‘You won’t have any surprises left for tomorrow if you keep rattling those things’ he admonished as he made his way over to where she sat, placing Liam between her outstretched legs so he could lean up against her.

‘Liam’ she said as she placed her tiny arms around her brother. ‘I’m going to read you a story.’

Neal watched the interaction and smiled. Hope was a very responsible and loving big sister. She looked out for her baby brother and enjoyed making him laugh by tickling his toes and blowing raspberries on his tummy whenever she helped her mom or dad change his diaper. 

At seven months, Liam was sitting up on his own although sometimes he faltered. ‘Don’t forget to support his back’ Neal reminded his daughter.

She gave him a _‘I do know how to hold a baby’_ look and placed a kiss on the top of Liam’s head as he reached out to grab the book, cooing happily.

‘If he fusses, call me’ Neal said as he stood to make his way to the kitchen.

‘... and don’t try to lift him’ he said, reminding her of the cardinal rule.

He walked away in search of his wife who could be heard rattling around in the kitchen.

‘Good morning’ he said as he found her standing at the kitchen counter, checking a list.

She looked up to greet him and his eyes were drawn to the bruise on her face which was dark and brooding and looked very, very sore.

‘Oooh’ he said, standing in front of her and wincing in sympathy as he gently reached out to touch her face. ‘That looks even worse than yesterday.’

‘Actually, it’s at that stage where it looks worse than it feels’ she said, looking up into his eyes.

‘How about you my gorgeous husband?’ she asked. ‘How are _you_ feeling?’

‘Better. I’m definitely over the worst of it. I wouldn’t run a marathon but...’ he said as he carefully laced his arms around her, doing his best to avoid the sore spots which might cause her to flinch.

‘Thank God it’s just a forty-eight hour bug, huh?’ she said as he snuggled a little closer.

‘Is Liam up?’ she asked as Neal brought his lips to her neck and proceeded to nibble on her ear.

‘Huh, huh’ he replied absentmindedly continuing on his search for a little physical intimacy – something which had been sorely lacking between them the last little while.

Sara attempted to wriggle out of his grasp, looking for a little more information regarding their son and Neal relented momentarily, his arms still firmly holding her firmly against his grateful body.

‘He’s good, I just checked his temperature and his fever’s down. His eyes look a little droopy but he was smiling when I changed his diaper’ he said, immediately returning to her neck.

‘Neal!’ she said, hoping to get his attention for more than a fleeting second.

He pulled away a second time. ‘You’re really _not_ into this, are you?’ he sighed loudly in obvious disappointment.

‘We have tons to do today’ she reminded him as he finally let her out of his grasp and moved towards the kitchen counter to grab a cup of coffee.

‘I’d left a bunch of stuff in the car and the wrecking yard called and said we could pick it up and... ‘ she added, with a look of pure satisfaction. ‘... get this, I ordered groceries on line. All you have to do is drive up and pick them up, they even carry everything out to the car for you.’

‘Wow!’ Neal said in mock admiration. ‘You _have_ been busy this morning.’

The smile she gave him turned into a frown as the pain in her face flared up, reminding her of the lingering bruise.

‘Daddy! Liam’s squirming’ Hope shouted from the front of the house.

‘Break’s over!’ Neal said as he gave Sara a peck on the cheek and went off to his daughter’s rescue.

WCWCWC

It was a beautiful winter day, sunny and warm - once the heater in the car got going. Neal sat behind the wheel, searching for an address in this unfamiliar section of town where warehouses and garages lined the streets of the industrial park. He squinted against the bright sun as he continued to search for his destination.

‘Look for an ‘R’’ he instructed Hope who sat in the backseat, on the lookout.

‘Is that it?’ she asked, spotting a large sign off in the distance.

‘Good eye!’ Neal said as he got closer, noticing the sign for ‘Rogers and Sons Wrecking Yard’.

They pulled into the huge yard, noticing heaps and heaps of scrap metal and demolished cars, most of which were probably not even paid for, Neal thought as he parked and made his way to help Hope out of her booster seat. By the time they returned, they were carrying several large bags containing Sara’s purchases from the previous Saturday. At first glance, everything seemed intact and appeared to have been spared the worst of the crash – Sara had likely placed everything in the back seat and not the trunk of the car. Neal positioned the bags next to Hope and made his way back behind the wheel as they headed to their next destination.

‘What’s this?’ Hope asked as Neal spied her in the rear view mirror rummaging through the bags.

‘Hey, stop that!’ he said as he turned to see what was in her hand. ‘There could be stuff for _you_ in there!’

She handed him a beautifully bound book, dark blue with a photograph of a tree’s silhouette against a beautiful sunset. On the cover, the words ‘Dream Journal’ were inscribed in beautiful gold lettering. Neal grinned at the sight of it, no doubt a gift destined for him from his thoughtful wife. He handed it back to his daughter to be returned to its hiding place.

‘Now stop snooping around or you won’t have any surprises left’ he said as he prepared to drive away. 

‘Do you want to call Uncle Peter?’ he asked, remembering he owed his best friend a return call.

He could see her smiling back at him in the rear view mirror as she gave him a thumbs up. He called out Peter’s name on his Bluetooth and waited as the call connected.

‘Hello’ came Peter’s voice although he could hardly be heard with all the background noise.

‘Peter!’ Neal said loudly, hoping to be heard.

‘Just a minute, Neal. Let me try to find a quiet place to talk.'

Neal could hear him moving around, the noise finally beginning to fade in the background and he heard a door close as Peter came back on the line.

‘You have no idea how lucky you are to be home having a nice, _quiet_ Christmas’ he said into the phone. ‘This place is crazy!’

Neal smiled at Peter’s comment – if he only knew.

‘Mommy had a car accident!’ Hope shouted out from the back seat as Neal gave her a reproachful look.

‘Is that true?’ Peter asked, suddenly concerned.

‘It’s fine, Peter. It was a... fender bender’ Neal fibbed as he tried to downplay the incident.

‘And I threw up on Daddy’s shoes and Liam had to go to the hospital’ Hope continued as Neal glared at her in the rear view mirror. So much for giving up all the headlines in one fell swoop. She needed lessons on burying the lead, a Caffrey specialty.

‘What? What’s going on over there?’ Peter asked, worry apparent in his voice.

‘It’s fine, really’ Neal said. ‘The kids got the flu, that’s all.’

‘Sounds like you’ve got your hands full’ Peter said.

‘Well, let’s put it this way, we’re looking forward to a nice, quiet Christmas Day, right Hope?’ Neal said, prodding his daughter to say at least one positive thing

She nodded enthusiastically from the back seat.

‘So how are things in Northern New York?’

‘Crazy! My sister’s kids are driving me nuts. But my mom made her famous lemon bars and my dad’s taking us all out in the horse and buggy tonight to midnight mass in the village.’

‘Sounds very... folksy’ Neal answered as he rolled his eyes.

‘Yeah...it’s nice’ Peter admitted. ‘But we miss you guys.’

‘We miss you too’ Neal said – Peter had no idea just how much.

‘So listen, El wanted me to remind you that she’s catering that big party at the Westin on New Year’s Eve.You’re coming with us, right?’ he asked, excitement apparent in his voice.

‘I’ll talk to Sara and see if we can line up a sitter’ Neal answered as Hope frowned in the back seat. ‘I think Mozzie might be back by then.’

‘Good! We’re really looking forward to ringing in the New Year with you guys’ Peter said.

‘Well, give our love to El and call when you get back’ Neal said before hanging up.

He grew quiet for a moment, thinking about the past few Christmases shared with the Burkes and he shook off the nostalgia, smiling as he realized he was surrounded by his beautiful wife and wonderful children.

‘Do you want to help me pick out a gift for Mom?’ he asked Hope who had grown quiet in the back seat.

Her eyes lit up at the suggestion and Neal pointed the car in the direction of their local mall.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

‘Which one do you think Mommy would like more?’ Neal asked as they stood by the jewelry case, staring down at two bracelets.

‘This one...’ Hope said pointing, without a trace of doubt in her voice.

‘Oh, yeah?’ Neal said as he began to study the two very different front runners, a wide bold sterling silver bracelet and a more delicate, ornate one.

Hope nodded, adamant. ‘...because she pointed to one that was almost like it in a magazine and she said _‘If Daddy asks you, this is what I want.’_

Neal rolled his eyes; it was just like Sara to have Hope act as intermediary in her quest for the perfect Christmas gift. Just for that, he should go the other route, Neal thought deviously.

‘But then, she said. _‘Daddy always picks the perfect gift’_ Hope continued as Neal’s scowl turned into a smile

He _did_ know his wife’s tastes and he thought she looked great in anything. Hope’s eyes wandered to the next case over and Neal could see her gaze lingering on a delicate charm bracelet which sat in a section dedicated to children’s jewelry. 

‘That’s pretty, huh?’ he said, pointing to the one that Hope’s eyes were glued to.

He could see the look in his daughter’s eyes as she lingered on the many charms nearby. She nodded, her eyes bright.

‘All right, I’m going to go pay for this. Do you want to get an ice cream?’ he asked, pointing to the concession stand that was located right outside the store.

Hope had been bugging him for an ice cream cone since they’d arrived at the mall and suddenly her gaze moved from the jewelry case to her dad as she nodded enthusiastically. Neal reached into his pocket and handed his daughter a five dollar bill.

‘Make sure you get some change’ he warned. ‘And stay where I can see you and I’ll be right out.'

With a knowing smile, Neal made his way to the cash register to pay for his purchases.

WCWCWC

Sara sat in the rocking chair in Liam’s room and glanced out the window at the clear, sunny day, the snow glistening brightly. Her eyes returned to her son, who lay calmly in her arms, nursing and cooing.Every few seconds, he would pull away from her breast and stare lovingly into his mom’s eyes, responding to her soft words and loving glances. She let out long, satisfied sigh as she stared into her little boy’s bright green eyes.

What a journey it had been to finally have him here, safe in her arms. Following her surgery four years earlier, Dr. Cooper had warned her that the odds of getting pregnant with just one functioning ovary and the lingering effects of chemotherapy were slim but Neal had never given up and now, they were celebrating their first Christmas with their baby boy following a particularly rough year for both of them. 

Neal’s accident the previous winter had left repercussions that would linger for years to come and after Liam’s birth, Sara had struggled with postpartum depression. She’d become depressed and unresponsive, not understanding how the unbridled joy she’d felt at the anticipation of Liam’s arrival had dissipated, turning into apathy and lack of interest for the baby they had waited so long to welcome into their family. 

Neal had been amazing throughout those difficult weeks, seeing the signs of Sara’s struggle early on and insisting she get the help she needed to overcome those unexpected and unwelcome feelings of depression and lethargy. Now, the whole thing was a distant and painful memory as she gazed down at her son, the apple of her eye.

Liam was a sweet, agreeable baby, his disposition so different from that of his sister’s who’d shown signs of her strong, feisty temperament from the moment she was born. Now, Sara looked ahead to the coming year with optimism. Her life had become so much more than she could ever have imagined and every day she woke with a renewed sense of wonderment as she thought to the future with Neal and the kids by her side.

‘Owwww’ she shouted suddenly as she felt the sharp teeth biting into her nipple.

Liam looked up with a sly smile, unsure _what_ his mom was reacting to...

WCWCWC

‘I’m surprised you’re eating that burger after you demolished a whole ice cream cone’ Neal said as he sat across his daughter in the mall’s food court.

The lively crowd bustled around them as the father/daughter duo munched on a late lunch. Hope continued to eat with gusto, perhaps making up for the fact that she’d been under the weather for a few days and hadn’t had much of an appetite.

‘So, what did you and Mommy decide to leave out for Santa tonight?’ Neal asked as he nibbled on a French fry.

‘The pie’ she said, between bites. ‘Santa gets a lot of cookies on Christmas Eve. We thought the pie would be specialer.’

Neal nodded knowingly, as always amused at her habit of making up words.

‘Daddy?’ Hope said suddenly as her look turned serious. ‘Does Santa Claus really exist?’

The question threw Neal for a loop and he watched as Hope scrutinized his face, waiting for an honest response to the existential question. If there was ever a time to dust off his old Caffrey deflection skills, this was definitely it.

‘What do _you_ think?’ he responded, going the safe route.

Hope’s face scrunched up as she prepared to respond; she’d obviously been giving the matter a lot of thought.

‘It just doesn’t make sense that he could go all over the world in just one night’ she said after a moment’s deliberation.

Neal watched her face, seeing the internal struggle drawn on her features, her logical mind trying to make sense of something that her child’s heart wasn’t quite prepared to let go of. He’d known the day was coming when she would begin to question the Santa legend, he’d just hoped it would be later rather than sooner. He himself wasn’t quite ready to let go of the look of wonder he observed in his daughter’s eyes every Christmas morning.

‘Well, there are things in life that are hard to understand... or to explain’ he added, not a lie exactly, just another great deflection.

She studied his face; her daddy had never lied to her before. For the time being, it seemed to be enough of an answer and he watched as her eyes returned to her hamburger.

Neal looked down at his own lunch and let out a quiet sigh of relief, realizing he’d just dodged a bullet.

WCWCWC

By the time Neal and Hope made it back home, it was already mid-afternoon. The gifts had been bought, the grocery order picked up and Neal looked forward to not leaving the house again until Boxing Day. If they’d forgotten anything, so be it - they would just have to make do. The last few days had been exhausting and after running around for the past few hours, he was looking forward to sitting down quietly with Sara and the kids and watching what was turning into the traditional Christmas Eve viewing of the movie ‘Elf’ which they all thought was hysterical and heart warming.

He and Hope traipsed into the quiet house, carrying their purchases as well as the groceries and the packages they’d recovered from the wrecking yard.

‘Hey, you two!’ Sara said as she looked up from the counter where she stood, hands immersed in soapy dishwater.

Neal grinned as he placed the groceries on the kitchen table; he would never quite get used to the uncharacteristic sight of Sara Ellis doing menial housework.

‘Hey yourself’ he said as he leaned in to kiss her cheek.

‘Wow, you’ve been busy!’ she exclaimed as she wiped her hands and began snooping around the various bags Neal and Hope had carried in.

‘Hey, hey, hey!’ Neal warned. ‘Don’t you go snooping in those bags!’

Sara smiled at her husband giving him an expectant eyebrow wag as he moved in to remove some of the bags from her prying eyes. Hope walked over to where her mom stood and put her arms around her waist as Sara cringed silently at the pain the hug caused. But complaining was the last thing on her mind; Hope’s hugs were reserved for special occasions or moments when she was scared or sad... or tired which she seemed to be at the moment.

‘Someone’s tired’ Sara said as she hugged her daughter back.

Hope just nodded in response. ‘I’m going to go read in my room’ she announced, feeling the need for a little down time

She trudged back to the front of the house and headed upstairs, leaving her parents behind to tidy up.

WCWCWC

Hope lay on her bed, a stack of books by her side as her eyes beginning to droop. Although she’d recovered from her bout with the flu, the forty-eight hour bug had taken a toll on her and she wanted to be in tip-top shape for Christmas Day, her most favourite day of the year. 

She reached over and lazily grabbed the Christmas wish list she kept by her bedside and began looking at the long list of things she had asked for in her letter to Santa. Her eyes were drawn to the much shorter list at the bottom of the page which was the list of gifts _she_ was giving her friends and family.There was the tie her mom had helped her pick out for her dad, the book her dad had helped her pick out for her mom, the jewelry making kit she’d gotten for Olivia, the gifts for her Auntie Elizabeth and Uncle Peter and of course for Uncle Mozzie and Grandma June who would all be coming over on New Year’s Day for dinner. 

Suddenly, it hit her. 

She hadn’t gotten anything for Liam. Granted, he was little and didn’t know Christmas Day from the Fourth of July but still, she wanted to give her baby brother _something_ for Christmas. She lay on her back, looking around at all her worldly possessions, scattered around the room. Her eyes were drawn to a few of the stuffed toys she’d gotten over the years – items she was now _much_ too old to play with. There was the tiger she’d gotten when they’d gone to the zoo and the teddy bear her Grandma June had given her for her second birthday... her eyes stopped on the pink elephant which had been a favourite of hers. Her uncle Peter had given it to her years ago – she couldn’t quite remember the occasion. That would be a perfect gift, she thought. Liam always pointed to it when he played with her on her bed. 

She smiled a smile of pure satisfaction as she stood on her mission to pull it down off the top of her bookcase.

WCWCWC

‘Here, I’ll finish that’ Neal said as Sara prepared to return to the few dishes that sat in soapy water in the sink.

She smiled and continued with the task of putting away the groceries Neal had come home with.Liam sat in his highchair, a few sundry toys littered on the table in front of him. He was happier than he’d been in days and Neal reached over to turn on some Christmas music on the CD player nearby as he made his way over to the sink.

‘So, how did you like driving up and having the grocery order ready to go?’ she asked as she studied the produce which had been chosen for them.

‘It’s a time saver, that’s for sure’ Neal agreed. ‘I kind of like to choose my own stuff though.’

He began the job of washing the few dishes, rinsing them and placing them on the dish rack nearby, singing softly as a Christmas favourite could be heard in the background.

_‘It’s the most wonderful time of -’_ he began as he swayed in time to the music.

‘Shit!’ he said loudly, interrupting himself.

Sara turned to see what the problem was and just as she noticed the water in the sink turning pink, there came a thunderous noise from the second floor of the house.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

‘Caffrey!’ the nurse called out as she stood expectantly in the doorway to the ER waiting room.

Sara and Neal exchanged glances as the woman checked the clipboard she was carrying.

‘ _Hope_ Caffrey’ she specified.

Sara made a move to stand and was preparing to put Liam back in his car seat when Neal put his hand out to keep her from getting up.

‘I’ve got it’ he said, standing and turning towards the wheelchair the nursing staff had placed their daughter in when they’d first arrived.

The nurse took one look at Neal’s predicament and walked over, grabbing on to the chair’s handles as she began pushing it out towards the examination rooms.

‘I see we have a ‘two for one’ today’ she said tongue in cheek as Neal gave a weak smile and followed her.

The trio made it down the now familiar hallway back to the large examination area where beds were lined up, surrounding a work station where a number of doctors and other medical staff worked diligently, ordering tests, filling out forms, talking on the phone. Neal and Hope were brought into one of the small spaces and the woman prepared to pull the curtain to give them a little bit of privacy while they continued their wait.

‘Someone will be right in’ she said before leaving.

Hope’s whimpering had settled somewhat since they’d arrived, the pain medication they had given her apparently working its magic.

‘How do you feel _now_ , honey’ Neal asked as he looked down at her – she seemed so tiny and helpless in that big chair.

‘Better’ she moaned as she looked up at her daddy, noticing he was wincing in pain.

‘I’m sorry’ she added as she wiped her nose with her sleeve.

‘It's okay, it was an accident, it could have happened to anyone’ he answered as he lifted his hand to show her the evidence of just that.

His left hand, which had been swaddled in a towel when they’d first arrived had been wrapped in a makeshift dressing to keep him from bleeding all over the place while he waited to have it looked at. 

‘I thought I could reach it if I just climbed on the bottom shelf...’ she repeated for the third time.

They were definitely going to have to have a talk about the consequences of making poor decisions once the dust finally settled but now was not the time. Neal watched her little face scrunch up as the pain shot through her foot once more. The sight of Hope lying on the ground with the bookcase precariously teetering on the bed kept haunting him; if the bed hadn’t been there to keep the shelf from tipping over all the way, it would have completely flattened her and heaven knows the damages _that_ might have caused.

She began to cry again and Neal pulled his chair a little closer and wrapped his arm around her.

‘It’s going to be okay, baby, it’s okay’ he said reassuringly, feeling his hand throbbing.

The curtain pulled back and a familiar face appeared.

‘You’ve got to be kidding’ said the woman.

WCWCWC

Sara sat patiently in the waiting room, holding a content Liam on her knees – not that Sara Ellis _did_ patient all that well. The last hour had been harrowing as she tried to deal with two emergencies simultaneously. She had barely registered that Neal had cut his hand in the dishwater when they’d heard the horrible crashing sound coming from upstairs. She couldn’t even remember her feet touching the ground as she’d run up the staircase towards Hope’s room, sensing Neal right on her heels, his long legs trying to catch up as he held a towel to his bleeding hand. 

They could hear Hope crying as they got closer, her cries both reassuring and worrisome. By the time, they’d pulled her out from the mess of books and knick knacks which had fallen on her, it had become obvious that apart from being terrified, the damage she’d sustained appeared to be limited to her left foot which was already swelling under their careful scrutiny. Neal, on the other hand, was bleeding through the dishtowel he’d hastily grabbed on his way up the stairs. He seemed so focussed on Hope’s situation that he hadn’t noticed he’d bled all the way through and was about to make a mess.

A quick examination confirmed he was going to need stitches and Sara had done her best to manage the situation, fetching ice for Hope’s foot and making sure Neal didn’t bleed out all over Hope’s bed.

At that point, despite the lingering pain from her own bumps and bruises, Sara had been the best equipped to deal with the emergency, managing to get everyone in the car and back to the hospital for the third day in a row.

She heard Liam gurgle and glanced down at his smiling face – at least one member of the family was feeling good.

WCWCWC

‘You’re not going to be happy until you’re all admitted to this place, are you?’ said Dr. Karen Williams in jest. ‘Seriously? Three days in a row?’

‘I could say the same about you’ Neal said as he gritted his teeth in pain.

‘Well, I’m the junior doctor on the roster and I pulled the short straw for Christmas week’ she explained as she crouched down to get a better look at Hope’s foot. ‘What’s your excuse?’

Neal snorted; he really did appreciate the young woman’s offbeat sense of humour.

‘So, Hope Ellis-Caffrey…’ Dr. Williams said as she was reminded of her first meeting with the little girl. ‘…what happened here?’

Hope looked circumspectly at her dad; she was going to have to admit that she’d been careless and had been the cause of her own misfortune.

‘I wanted to reach the pink elephant to give to Liam...’ she began, her voice quivering. Apparently, she was going to give the doctor the whole sordid story from beginning to end.

The doctor listened patiently as she lifted her off the chair and placed her on the gurney in order to better examine her.

‘...so I climbed on the bottom shelf of the bookcase so I could reach it’ Hope continued, glancing at her dad. ‘But my mom and dad had told me I shouldn’t do that...’

‘But you thought you knew better?’ Dr. Williams said as she began tentatively rotating Hope’s ankle.

Hope didn’t seem to have any pain associated with the movement so the good doctor kept prodding as the child continued with the story.

‘Yes’ she said, sheepishly as Neal looked on regretfully.

‘Well, did you manage to _reach_ the pink elephant?’ the doctor asked kindly.

‘It kind of... well, everything came tumbling down on top of me’ Hope admitted sheepishly.

‘Well, you were very lucky that shelf didn’t fall directly on you’ said the doctor as she moved on to Hope’s toes. ‘You know, moms and dads are usually right about things like that, you really should listen.’

‘Owww!’ Hope shouted as the doctor got to her little toe.

‘Does it hurt anywhere else?’ she asked.

Hope shook her head as Dr. Williams began to check her out from head to toe.

‘Sweetie, we’re going to have to take a picture of your toe but I’m pretty sure it’s broken’ she said as Hope’s eyes grew to the size of saucers, her bottom lip quivering.

The curtain opened and one of the nurses appeared as if on cue, ready to wheel Hope down to radiology. Neal made a move to follow and the doctor spoke up, urging him to remain seated.

‘Hope, you go on ahead with Clarisse okay? She’ll bring you back when you’re done. I need to check your daddy’s hand’ she said as Hope looked over with uncertainty at her dad who was sitting there, looking forlorn.

‘It’s okay’ he said reassuringly as he reached down to kiss her forehead. ‘I’ll wait right here for you.’

He watched as Hope was wheeled out, trying her best to be brave and he turned his attention back to the young woman who was staring down at him, mischief in her eyes.

‘I can’t wait to hear _this_ story’ she said, tongue in cheek as she pointed to his hand.

Neal rolled his eyes at her and smiled through the pain.

WCWCWC

By the time her husband and daughter emerged from the bowels of the ER, Sara had been pacing for a while with a fussy Liam in her arms. He was more than ready for a nap but the busy sounds of the ER were keeping him just on the edge of sleep as he continued to protest loudly in her arms.

Hope appeared in the same wheelchair she’d gone in with but this time, Neal was pushing her along, his hand bandaged up nice and clean.

‘Hey!’ he called out as he came into view. ‘Dr. Williams wants a word with you.’

The foursome turned back down the hallway towards the examination rooms they’d just left as Sara looked quizzically at Neal.

‘So?’

‘Her little toe is broken and I got four stitches’ he answered to her unspoken question – giving her the Reader’s Digest version of what had transpired.

They arrived back in the small space Neal and Hope had just vacated. Dr. Williams stood there, filling out the requisite forms following her assessment and treatment of the father/daughter duo.

‘Hi Sara’ she said as the family stepped in, Liam still in his mother’s arms. ‘I thought I’d save you a return trip on Christmas Day and have a quick look at the baby... and you’ she added good-naturedly.

‘He seems to be feeling a lot better today’ Sara said as she placed Liam in the doctor’s arms.

He stilled and smiled as the woman cooed at him, gently placing him on the bed where moments before his big sister had been lying. Neal and Sara exchanged smiles at the expert way the doctor was handling their son – obviously not the first baby she’d had to deal with.

‘Look at you smiling at me’ she cooed. ‘You’re feeling better, huh?’

She lay the back of her hand against his cheek, sensing the coolness under her hand.

‘How’s he drinking?’

‘Normally’ Sara answered. ‘I just nursed him about ten minutes ago.’

‘He looks great – much better than last night’ the doctor said. ‘That’s the nice thing about babies, they bounce back quickly. And they don’t moan and groan like we tend to do. When they start to feel better, they forget all about the aches and pains.’

‘And what about you?’ Dr. Williams asked as she examined the large bruise on Sara’s face. ’How are the headaches?’

‘Pretty well gone’ Sara admitted. ‘The worst is the bruise around my hips.’

Dr. Williams lifted Sara’s blouse gingerly as the rest of the family watched. She examined the bruising, declaring authoritatively that everything seemed to be healing as it should.

‘You’ll be feeling a lot better in a couple of days’ she said as she made a few notes on the clipboard nearby.

‘Look, it’s been a hoot getting to know you all so…’ she said as she began to gather her things to leave. ‘…please don’t take this personally – but I really don’t want to see you in here tomorrow.’

Everyone let out a small chuckle – relief mostly that despite a trying three days, everyone was getting a clean bill of health.

‘Here’s a prescription that I _insist_ you have filled’ she said as she wrote something on her prescription pad with a flourish.

She handed the small piece of paper to Sara who smiled as she showed it to her husband.

_‘Have a Merry Christmas, Caffreys’_ it read.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

The drive home was quiet. Gentle snow fell, covering everything in sight in a soft blanket of pure white which seemed to hush every sound around them. The streets were tranquil, the stores finally closed as everyone headed home to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. 

The mood in the car was hushed, introspective, as everyone sat in silence, seemingly licking their respective wounds. Neal drove despite having limited use of his left hand; Sara was nervous about getting back behind the wheel and he didn’t want to push it – not yet, anyway. Hope sat in the back, right behind Neal, with her foot up on the seat, her toe taped up and her left boot lying on the floor of the car nearby. 

Sara looked done in, both from the worry of the previous few hours and the persistent pain that continued to linger throughout her body. She’d been blaming herself for not having mentioned that, among the utensils at the bottom of the sink, was the sharp knife she’d used to cut up the chicken sandwich she’d prepared for herself while Neal and Hope had been out running errands. Neal had done his best to reassure her; it was just a silly accident which would soon be forgotten.

Hope had been given some meds for the throbbing pain in her foot, drugs which seemed to have knocked her out and she grew quiet in the back seat as Liam snoozed, his afternoon nap long past due. They could still salvage the evening, Neal realized. It was just past 7:00; Hope could still open her Christmas Eve present and they could all sit and have hot chocolate by the tree before they put the kids to bed. There was still some gift wrapping to do and Neal wondered how he was going to manage _that_ with his hand bandaged up as it was – it was bad enough that he sucked at gift wrapping in the first place, how he would manage with just one hand, he didn’t have a clue.

Neal was silent, replaying the events leading up to their latest visit to White Plains Hospital and reflecting on how fate had conspired once again to challenge the young family, making them appreciate each other even more. Despite the rough few days they’d just had, he wouldn’t change a thing. The rough spots just made the good times even more enjoyable and he turned to look at Sara, winking at her and watching as she smiled in response.

Meadowbrook Street was quiet and practically empty - except for Charlie Stevens who was out shovelling the minute amount of snow which had fallen during the afternoon. 

‘Hi’ the man called out as the family stepped out of the car. ‘Out for a Christmas Eve drive?’

Neal stood with Hope tucked in his arms while Sara pulled a sleeping Liam out of his car seat.

‘You could say that’ Neal replied, circumspect.

The last thing he wanted was to start a long, convoluted conversation with the over-friendly neighbour. He waved to Charlie as they entered the house, the smell of pine hitting his nostrils and making him smile.

‘Daddy, can I still open my book?’ Hope asked, half asleep in his arms.

‘Of course you can’ he answered, his voice much more cheerful than he actually felt. ‘It’s Christmas Eve!’

Liam was put to bed for the night and Hope slipped into her jammies, settling in on the couch in the living room, a mug of hot chocolate in her hands and her foot up on Neal’s lap just as Dr. Williams had ordered. She sat with her back up against her mom, sandwiched between her loving parents, a little quieter than usual and gazing up at the tree as the colourful lights reflected in her bright blue eyes. 

Neal studied her face, the wonder in her eyes so palpable he could almost feel it and he became overwhelmed with a sense of peace and well-being at the sight of her. Watching this little person he loved so much drinking in the magic of Christmas was enough to make him forget about his difficult youth. He had been given a second chance to experience the magic of the season, through the eyes of his children and the thought filled his heart with love and hope.

‘How are you feeling?’ Sara asked Hope, her arm snugly wrapped around her daughter.

‘Okay’ Hope answered, her voice quiet.

Her mind seemed to wander, thinking ahead to all the wonderful plans they’d had for the coming week — skating at the neighbourhood outdoor rink, building a snowman in the backyard, plans that were now at risk of being shelved.

‘We won’t be able to go sliding this week’ she said sadly as she looked at her dad.

She and Neal had planned to pull the sleigh out of the garage and go sliding on the small hill near her school on Boxing Day while Sara hit the sales; she’d been looking forward to it for weeks.

‘I can still pull you around on the sleigh and maybe we could take a couple of slides down the hill - together’ Neal answered, wondering himself what everyone was going to be up to doing in the next couple of days.

They would just have to play it by ear. The most important thing was that everyone was safe and that they were together – the rest was all window dressing and would eventually work itself out.

‘I think it’s time for your present’ Sara said as she rose to grab _two_ wrapped gifts from under the tree.

Hope looked up at her mom with a question in her eyes.

‘I thought you might like to open Liam’s book too - since he’s asleep’ Sara said with a warm smile. ‘You could show it to him in the morning.’

Hope nodded eagerly as she reached out for the gifts, anticipation dancing in her eyes. Despite the simplicity of the gift, the ritual held a special place in the little girl’s heart – even at her young age, she enjoyed the holiday tradition and she looked forward to adding a treasure to the beautiful basket of books that lay nearby.

‘Hope’ she read on the tag of the first package as she slowly began unwrapping the gift, relishing the discovery, taking her time.

Sara watched her daughter’s face as she discovered the new book. Shopping for the special keepsakes was one of her favourite things and she loved watching Hope’s face as she discovered what was hidden beneath the pretty paper. 

Neal studied them both, mother and daughter as they created memories that would last a lifetime and he felt a lump in his throat which he quickly swallowed, chasing the emotions away.

‘Wow!’ Hope said as if she’d just opened the most precious gift ever. ‘The Snow Angel’ she read as she ran her hand lovingly over the book’s cover.

Sara took in the look of wonder on her daughter’s face; she remembered the feeling she’d had when she was that age - unwrapping that special book on Christmas Eve, her sister Emily by her side, just as excited as she was. She pushed the bittersweet memory aside and looked over at Neal who, she could tell from the look in his eyes, was growing emotional. She reached over and squeezed his hand, unsure what memories he was recalling, most likely not the happy ones she held so dear. 

‘I love it Mommy’ Hope said, opening the cover to read the inscription.

She read out loud, stumbling slightly as she spoke: _‘To our special girl. We love you so much! Mommy and Daddy’_

Her eyes went from her mom to her dad as she continued to smile, stifling a yawn.

‘Now open Liam’s’ Neal said as he handed her the second gift.

The second book was titled ‘The Perfect Christmas Tree’ and she laughed out loud as she stared at the picture of the practically branchless tree with chirping birds perched on its few limbs. She squealed in delight.

‘Hey’ said Neal, seeing the look of exhaustion on her face. ‘How about I piggy back you to the kitchen and we can get that snack ready for Santa? He’s going to be starting his journey pretty soon.’

Hope’s eyes glowed; whatever doubts she might have expressed to her dad earlier on in the day had all but disappeared and Neal realized he’d better capture the memory of her joyful face in his mind’s eye for future reference. This might be the last year that his little girl prepared a snack for Santa.

They giggled as they cut a piece of strawberry pie, placing it on a special Christmas plate and Neal watched as Hope carefully poured a glass of milk for St Nick. He carried her back into the living room and together they placed the snack on a small table by the tree next to the drawing Hope had made earlier of herself and Liam along with a word of thanks for the jolly old fellow.

‘Mommy, don’t stay up too late or he won’t come’ Hope warned as Neal prepared to carry her upstairs.

‘I won’t’ Sara shouted back as she watched them disappear up the stairs.

WCWCWC

By the time Neal made it back downstairs, Sara had already placed Santa’s gifts for the kids under the tree and had turned out all the lights except for the tree lights which glowed and enveloped the room in perfect tranquillity. 

‘I think she’s already asleep’ he said as he gratefully took the glass of Grand Marnier from her hand and slipped in next to her on the couch to enjoy the lights and the soft music playing in the background.

He took a nice, long sip of his drink and sighed contentedly as Sara put an arm around him to pull him close.

‘What a week, huh?’ she said.

‘Mmm’ he replied, feeling his body relax in her welcoming arms.

‘I wonder how Peter and El are doing?’ she asked.

‘I forgot to tell you, I talked to Peter this afternoon. His dad was taking them to midnight mass in a horse drawn carriage’ he said with a smile.

‘That’s a pretty picture’ she answered as she noticed a flicker of some long ago regret in her husband’s eyes.

She didn’t usually pry when it came to his youth; after all, it was a long time ago and it had nothing to do with their lives today but something compelled her to ask anyway.

‘Do _you_ have any happy Christmas memories from your youth?’ she asked, her voice quiet.

He took another long sip of his drink, eyes faraway before sitting up and looking into his wife’s eyes.

‘You know...’ he answered with a shrug. ‘My mom... she was... well, Christmas was just a sad reminder of everything she’d lost and Ellen... well, she _tried_ to make it special for me but there was just so much sadness at Christmastime in our house.’

Sara ran her hand lovingly through his hair as he sighed deeply. She knew that, in contrast, she’d had many happy Christmas memories growing up.

‘What about you?’ Neal asked, shrugging off the momentary melancholy.

‘Up until the time Emily left, we had magical Christmases, the tree, the decorations, the gifts, Mom’s baking and Dad was like you about decorating the outside of the house’ she added with a chuckle.

‘But then, everything changed when Emily left...’ she said, her voice trailing.

Neal looked into her eyes, realizing they both had baggage that they had somehow managed to shed without resentment or bitterness.

‘Thank you’ he said softly as her eyes narrowed, unsure of what he was talking about.

‘For what?'

‘For giving me the Christmases I always dreamed of when I was young’ he said, getting choked up. ‘And for making it magical for our kids.’

Sara stared back into his deep blue eyes, wondering again how such a hurt and lost soul had managed to pull himself out of the depths of his tragic past to become the loving, caring husband and father he was today. She loved him all the more for it.

A soft ballad came on, one of Neal’s favourites and he sat up, putting out his good hand in invitation.

‘Wanna dance?’ he asked as he stood, pulling Sara to her feet.

They moved slowly by the glow of the Christmas tree, arms tightly wound around each other, blue eyes locked on green, as Neal sang softly _‘...through the years, we all will be together...’_

Once the music stopped, they kept swaying in each other’s arms, eyes still riveted on each other.After a moment, Neal broke the silence.

‘Merry Christmas Repo’ he whispered softly.

‘Merry Christmas Neal’ she replied.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

‘Daddy!’ Neal heard from faraway as he came back to reality.

‘Daddy! Wake up!’ the voice repeated, more insistently.

He stirred in bed, becoming aware of Sara, dead to the world as she lay in his arms – their usual pose, with him on his back and Sara splayed out across his chest.

‘I’ll be right there!’ he called back, realizing Hope might be needing some help getting out of bed.

The sound of his voice woke Sara who moaned in his arms, coming to and suddenly realizing it was Christmas morning.

‘What time is it?’ she groaned.

Neal turned to check. ‘Six fifteen’ he mumbled, equally unimpressed.

‘Daddy!’ Hope called again, growing more impatient.

By the time he’d untangled himself from Sara’s sleepy limbs, Hope was standing in the doorway to their bedroom, hopping along on one foot.

‘Hope! Careful sweetie, you could hurt yourself’ he called out as he stood and made his way over to her, too late to keep her from hopping the last few feet to their bed and jumping in next to Sara.

‘Mommy, Mommy! Come on! Santa came!’ she called out excitedly as Sara opened an eye.

Despite the early hour, she couldn’t help but smile as she took in her daughter’s face, glowing with anticipation.

‘All right’ she said, sitting up, bleary eyed. ‘Let’s go wake Liam and go check things out.’

Neal returned a moment later with a sleepy baby in his arms, handing him off to his mom for a quick feed. 

‘Come on, Hope’ he said as he lifted her up into his arms. ‘Let’s go see if we had a visitor overnight.’

WCWCWC

Neal and Sara sat by the tree on the living room floor, Liam tucked between his dad’s outstretched legs and Hope fluttering from one wrapped gift to another. Santa had brought her the top item on her wish list – a sing along microphone with a stand. American Idol was one of Hope’s favourite shows and she dreamed of someday being up onstage entertaining the country (a dream her parents knew would sadly remain unfulfilled). 

Liam was getting some help with the gift unwrapping from his big sister and he sat there, totally oblivious to what was going on, just living in the moment, rolling a small train back and forth as he lay on his stomach, gurgling.

‘Open that one!’ Neal said to Hope as he pointed to a small box which lay under the tree, unwrapped except for a bright pink bow around it.

She looked up at her dad with a frown; she had no idea what it might be.

‘It’s from me’ he said with a sly smile.

Hope carefully untied the bow, setting the pretty ribbon aside as she opened the small box, her eyes alight at what she found.

‘It’s the charm bracelet!’ she yelled out as she threw her arms around Neal’s neck.

‘Daddy sure knows how to pick ‘em, doesn’t he?’ Sara said, amused, as she watched her daughter fawning all over her dad.

‘Well, Hope’s not the only one who’s getting spoiled’ Neal added as he grabbed for another small package hidden at the back of the tree.

Again, the box was not gift wrapped but had a pretty red bow around it and Sara smiled as she took it from her husband. He had a knack for picking jewelry and she hoped he’d managed to work his magic once again.

‘Neal! It’s gorgeous!’ she said as she reacted in much the same way her daughter had, throwing her arms around her husband’s neck. ‘How did you know?’

He just smirked knowingly and winked at Hope who stayed mum; he still had the Caffrey charm with the women, it seemed. Liam wasn’t about to let his dad get all the attention and he gurgled nearby, letting out a loud shout of pure, unadulterated joy. 

‘Is anybody hungry?’ Neal asked, realizing they’d been sitting there for over an hour.

‘Yes!’ Sara and Hope answered in unison.

He’d picked up some cinnamon buns at the local bakery and he looked forward to that first cup of coffee now that Hope had unwrapped all of her gifts. 

‘Come on, buddy’ he said as he scooped up Liam in his arms. ‘Let’s you and me go get breakfast for the ladies.’

WCWCWC

The rest of Christmas Day was blissfully uneventful. Hope was thrilled with the loot she’d gotten and she spent the day getting familiar with every one of the many gifts that had been left for her under the tree. Unfortunately for everyone else, she’d been delighted with her sing-along microphone which amplified her off-key rendition of every pop song she could possibly think of. Sara had suggested she set up in the studio down in the basement so she could practice to her heart’s content but despite her being behind closed doors one floor below them, Sara and Neal sat on the couch in the family room cringing as they listened to her off-key performance of One Direction’s latest hit.

‘She’ll get tired soon enough’ Neal said with a soft laugh as they settled in with a nice glass of wine.

‘Not soon enough for me’ Sara responded with a similar chuckle.

Liam had been put down for a nap and Christmas dinner was in the oven; a scaled down version of the traditional turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. Sara dropped her head on Neal’s shoulder and let out a sigh before sitting up suddenly, her voice animated.

‘I almost forgot. I have another gift for you’ she said, springing to her feet.

‘Me too’ he answered as he headed for the basement.

They returned, each carrying a present and giggled nervously as they made it back to the couch.

‘You first’ Neal said as he held out the canvas he’d been working on for the past several weeks. 

It wasn’t a surprise, since Sara had asked for it specifically, but she watched in wonder as he revealed a beautiful painting of Liam in his arms as he sat in the rocking chair, cradling him. Sara had taken the picture about two months earlier and she’d asked Neal if he could paint it in watercolour – not his usual medium; she wanted it for her office, a reminder of the two wonderful men in her life.

‘Oh, Neal! It’s even more beautiful than I could have imagined’ she said as she took in the gorgeous canvas, the delicate watercolour making the subjects look almost luminous.

He watched her face light up as it always did whenever she looked at one of his paintings - that look was one of the reasons he enjoyed painting so much.

‘Thank you’ she said as she tore her gaze away from the painting to look into his eyes ‘I love it. And I love you.’

Her lips found his, so easily - as always - and the feel of his mouth against hers made her heart sing as he responded in kind.

‘You’re _very_ welcome’ he whispered as his eyes moved to her hands which were holding the gift he’d unwittingly discovered earlier in the week.

‘Honey, this is for you’ Sara said as she handed it over.

He took his time unwrapping the gift, summoning up the last dregs of his Caffrey persona so he could look surprised. She was taking so much pleasure in handing him the present; he didn’t want her to be disappointed by his reaction. The beautiful dream journal peeked out from under the gift wrap and he touched it lovingly as his gaze moved to Sara’s warm smile.

‘I know it’s not much but... I thought... well, I see you writing your dreams on those scraps of paper and I thought you needed a special place to write down your new memories’ she said, her voice barely a whisper.

His eyes filled with tears as he realized that this was so much more than just a journal; in her way, Sara was giving him back a part of his past by providing him with a place to lovingly inscribe the precious memories he was working so very hard on getting back. It had been such a long road, recuperating from that terrible accident that had almost broken up their family and he shuddered to think of where he might be if Sara hadn’t stood by his side, steadfast, persevering even when he’d almost given up.Through her dogged persistence and her unfailing love for him, she’d managed to give him back the precious life he’d worked so hard to get in the first place.

‘I love it’ he said simply, tears spilling out onto his cheeks.

His lips returned to hers once again and she felt him trembling, his emotions getting the better of him. 

Suddenly, Hope hit one of those impossible notes, her voice a faltering crescendo and Neal and Sara both burst out laughing.

WCWCWC

The following days were delightfully ordinary as the family cocooned, watching movies, making popcorn, playing board games and just enjoying each other’s company. On Friday, Neal and Hope went sledding at the school, as promised, with Neal holding on to his daughter as she squealed all the way down the hill while Sara watched with Liam warm and snug in his baby sleigh. They’d come home for hot chocolate and curled up on the couch to watch a DVD from Hope’s collection, all four of them snuggled underneath the blanket, happy and content.

On Saturday night, they sat around the kitchen table to play one of the board games Hope had gotten for Christmas, their stomachs full and their hearts happy. 

Neal stared down, concentrating hard, as evidenced by his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth, as he tried to remove a ‘cranky knee’ from Cavity Sam with the tweezers.

‘Careful Daddy’ Hope taunted in an attempt to break his concentration. ‘The buzzer’s going to sound.’

Neal’s hand trembled slightly and the buzzer sounded as Hope broke out in fits of laughter, Liam sitting on his daddy’s knees, joining in as his sister giggled madly.

The phone rang and Sara stood to answer.

‘All right, smarty pants, let’s see if you can do any better’ Neal said as he handed the pair of tweezers to his daughter with a put-on pout.

‘Hello’ Sara answered absentmindedly as she glanced back at the action at the kitchen table.

‘Hey Sara, we’re back’ came Elizabeth’s voice on the other end.

‘El! Hi! It’s great to hear your voice!’ answered Sara as she glanced over at Neal who looked up with a big smile on his face. ‘How did things go?’

‘Remind me to keep our holiday visits to Peter’s parents to every 10 years!’ she said with a laugh. ‘It is _so_ great to be home.’

Sara reflected sadly that there would _never_ be any Christmases with her folks or with Neal’s for that matter and she shivered at the realization. She and Neal would need to rely on each other to build a family for themselves and for their kids. She wondered in passing what kind of grandparents her mom and dad would have been; perhaps, they would have been able to recapture some of the joy they’d lost after Emily’s untimely disappearance. She shook off the over-sentimental notion before returning to the conversation at hand.

‘Well, we missed you...’ she said, realizing, not for the first time, that Elizabeth and Peter were the closest thing she and Neal had to family.

‘Same here’ Elizabeth said. ‘Peter told me the kids had been sick. How’s everybody doing?’

‘Well, it’s going to take more than a few minutes to fill you in. Want to meet up for coffee sometime tomorrow?’ Sara asked as she looked over at her brood, Liam safe in Neal’s arms and Hope giggling at something her dad had just said.

‘Yeah, do you want to come over after lunch tomorrow?’ El asked.

‘Sure! I’ll see you around two’ Sara replied as she prepared to hang up.

She looked over at her family, everyone smiling and content and she realized she had everything she could ever want right in their kitchen.

‘Mommy!’ Hope said impatiently. ‘It’s your turn!’

WCWCWC

‘I really missed you’ Elizabeth said as she poured them each a cup of coffee. ‘...all of you’

‘Same here’ Sara responded with a fond smile.

‘I don’t think we’ve spent a Christmas apart since... well, since you got pregnant with Hope’ El remarked as she thought back to the past several years.

‘You’re right!’ Sara said. ‘It was definitely strange to be on our own this year what with Mozzie and June away too.’

‘So, are you going to tell me about that bruise on your face?’ El asked as she pointed to Sara’s cheek with a grimace.

It had begun to fade but without makeup, it was still apparent, now an unappealing greenish, yellow colour.

‘Well, it all started with Hope getting the flu, just before you guys left and then Neal got it and on the Saturday before Christmas, I was rear ended near the mall - ’

‘Oh my God’ interrupted El as she listened to the tall tale. ‘Were you hurt?’

Sara lifted the bottom of blouse, revealing the bruising around her hips which matched the one on her face.

‘We ended up in the emergency room but then, on the Sunday, Liam got the flu and his fever spiked.Neal ended up bringing him to the ER...’ she continued as she watched El’s horrified face.

‘Is he okay?’ she asked.

‘He’s fine, now. Babies rebound so much faster than we do... but it really scared us, they actually had to put him on an IV, he was so dehydrated.’

Elizabeth reached out to touch Sara’s hand in commiseration and Sara shook her head.

‘Wait... there’s more’ she continued as El stared in disbelief. ’Then, on Christmas Eve, Hope broke her toe and Neal cut his hand doing dishes and we ended up in emergency _again._ ’

‘That all sounds like a bad movie’ El said as she listened raptly.

A cold wind swept in as the kitchen door opened and Peter appeared, Satchmo in tow. He took one look at Sara and El, realizing he was interrupting their catch-up time.

‘Sara!’ he said as he spied her bruised face. ‘The car accident?’

‘You knew and you didn’t tell me!’ El said, incensed.

‘Neal said it was a fender bender; I didn’t want you to worry’ he said to his wife who was giving him the evil eye.

‘It’s good to see you’ Sara said as she stood and accepted Peter’s hug.

‘Peter, they’ve had a _horrible_ Christmas – ‘ El began as Sara put up her hand to protest.

‘We haven’t, not really...’ Sara said, surprising herself at her response. ‘We had a wonderful Christmas... it’s just the run up to Christmas Day that was a little rough, that’s all.’

‘Well, are you ready to get all glammed up for the big party tomorrow night?’ Elizabeth asked as she pulled out a couple of tickets and handed them over to Sara.

‘I got you guys some VIP tickets which include a gourmet meal, champagne and a suite for the night’ she said, obviously pleased with herself.

After the week they’d just had, it sounded like a night out on the town was just what the doctor ordered. 

‘A suite?’ Sara repeated as she checked out the tickets in her hand. ‘I’ll have to see if Mozzie can spend the night.’

‘Oh, and don’t tell Neal’ she added as an afterthought. ‘I want it to be a surprise.’

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

By New Year’s Eve, everyone in the Caffrey household seemed to be back on their A game. Liam and Neal had totally recovered from the nasty flu as had Hope who was walking with a slight limp but didn’t need help getting around anymore. Sara looked just as she’d had before her accident – with a little extra help from MAC cosmetics, that is. 

She looked up from the mirror where she’d been applying her makeup when Hope came into her parents’ bedroom to investigate.

‘You look pretty, Mommy’ she said as her gaze lingered on the various beauty products laid out on the small makeup table. Her hand went directly to the lipstick as she looked up expectantly at her mom. 

Sara stared back at her daughter and gave her a knowing look. ‘Fine…’ she conceded as she turned to face Hope. ‘But just a touch.’

She proceeded to put a small dollop of pale pink lipstick on her daughter’s lips as the child looked at herself, admiring the grown-up look.

‘Honey, I need a favour’ Sara whispered. ‘You see that bag over there?’

Hope glanced over at the overnight bag tucked away in a corner of the room and nodded.

‘I need you to sneak it out to the car without Daddy seeing you’ Sara said, her voice quiet. ‘Do you think you could do that?’

‘It’s a surprise for Daddy’ she clarified. 

Hope loved surprises and she gave her mom an excited look.

‘Wait until he’s busy with something and just put it in the trunk so he doesn’t see it, okay?’ Sara asked.

Hope nodded a second time, this time with a sneaky smile on her face. She proceeded to cover her mouth and give a silent snicker, indicating she was all in.

‘Who’s babysitting us?’ she asked as she moved to the bed and ran her hand longingly over the beautiful gown Sara had laid out there.

‘Uncle Mozzie’ Sara answered, returning to her reflection in the mirror.

When she scrutinized herself, she could still see the remnants from the small cuts she’d suffered in the accident; she sighed and continued to apply some foundation over the problem areas.

‘Yay!’ Hope cried out just as Neal walked in from his shower, hair dripping and towel hanging off his slim hips. 

‘What are we so happy about?’ he asked as he began to towel dry his hair.

‘Uncle Mozzie is babysitting!’ Hope shouted with glee. ‘That means pizza for dinner!’

Neal rolled his eyes at Sara; all bets were off whenever Mozzie babysat and that usually meant that junk food was on the menu.

‘Well, just don’t overdo it’ Neal said, making his way to the closet. ‘You’ve had a lot of junk over the holidays.’

Hope watched as Neal turned his attention to his choice of clothes for the evening. She quickly grabbed the overnight bag while his back was turned and sauntered out of the room as Sara gave her a discreet thumbs up.

By the time Neal turned around to see if she’d heard him, she was long gone.

WCWCWC

‘You look… incredible!’ Neal said in a husky whisper as Sara struggled to fight him off.

‘Would you stand still for just a minute so I can finish with your bow tie’ she replied with a giggle.

His hands were all over her, his lips trying to get in the vicinity of her neck although Sara was managing to keep him at arms’ length – at least for the time being.

She was all decked out in a mermaid style gold and ivory gown with a sweetheart neckline which molded her curves down to the bottom of her tush and fell to the floor in an elegant flow of fabric - no mommy dress, that was for sure. 

‘Well, you look pretty hot yourself Caffrey’ she readily admitted, staring back at Neal, who stood before her in the sexy Hugo Boss tuxedo he’d hauled out from the back of his closet.

‘I can’t believe this thing still fits’ she added in admiration. 

Neal let his hands linger down her waist to her hips, settling on her buttocks as he squeezed gently. 

‘We should definitely dress up more often’ he murmured as his lips finally made it to Sara’s neck, and began roaming the top of her breasts.

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, mister’ she warned, hands on his chest to push him away. ‘Don’t you mess with any of this. It’s taken me forever to put this look together.’

Neal groaned as he stepped back. ‘As long as you promise to let me help you out of this later’ he added lewdly as he tried to collect himself.

Liam’s cries from across the hall brought him back to stark reality and he let out an exasperated sigh.

‘Later, Repo’ he said - a warning - as he made his way to collect his son from his crib.

‘Uncle Mozzie’s here!’ they heard Hope call out from downstairs.

WCWCWC

‘Elizabeth, you’ve done an amazing job with this party’ Sara said as the two women finished up the last of the indulgent dessert which had been served.

‘The nice thing is all the planning is done and now I get to sit back and enjoy it’ El replied with a relaxed smile. ‘The staff is doing a great job.’

‘Hey ladies’ Peter called out as he and Neal returned to the table. ‘Are you two up for a little spin on the dance floor tonight?’

Elizabeth gazed up at Peter, looking very dapper in his tuxedo. She could count on one hand the number of times she’d seen him all dressed up. 

’Why Agent Burke!’ she cooed. 'I didn’t think you had it in you.’

The band could be heard setting up in the background as the attendees chattered away in small clusters all over the ballroom of the large hotel. The atmosphere was stylish and elegant and Neal made his way to stand behind Sara, letting his hand linger lazily on the back of her bare neck. Her hair, which she usually wore down on her shoulders, had been coiffed in an up do for the occasion and the sight of her bare neck was doing indescribable things to his insides. 

The Caffreys hadn’t attended a soirée of this magnitude since the kids were born – as a matter of fact, Sara couldn’t remember ever attending such a gala with Neal and she was enjoying the upscale venue, the wonderful food and more importantly, Neal’s undivided attention. It struck her that they had yet to resume their monthly date nights since Liam had arrived, something they would definitely have to remedy in the new year. 

As much as she loved her everyday life as a wife, mom and badass insurance investigator, there was something about having Neal all to herself, looking like the sexy, mysterious conman she’d met years before, that got her pulse racing and she looked forward to spending the next few hours alone with him. She congratulated herself on keeping the secret about the hotel suite; when the evening was over, he’d be thrilled to find out they had a night in an upscale room of the hotel where they could finally be together without the usual interruptions. 

Neal took the seat next to his wife, his hand still lingering on the back of her neck and she watched as his eyes moved to hers, totally focussed on her every move. Gone was ‘daddy’ Neal who walked around the kitchen barefoot, getting dinner ready with a fussy Liam in his arms or who sat with Hope on his lap, reading ‘Goodnight Moon’. This was sexy, charming Neal who moved like a gazelle and who smiled with self-assurance and that unique look of mischief in his eyes.

She smiled back, silently inviting him in and he leaned in to kiss the side of her neck, lingering a little too long to be appropriate in public. 

‘I can’t wait to get you alone’ he whispered in her ear before pulling away.

Sara felt goose bumps all over her skin at the sound of his deep, gravelly voice and she pulled back, not trusting what she might do if she let her hands reach out and touch him. He looked good enough to eat.

They were suddenly aware of Peter and Elizabeth, sitting there patiently, waiting for the moment to pass and smiling indulgently at their friends.

‘So, I guess this is a well deserved break from the last week or so, huh?’ Peter said with a knowing look.

‘Let’s just say, we haven’t had much alone time in the last little while’ Neal said, his hand continuing to tickle Sara’s bare back, sending shockwaves through her system. The good kind. But part of her wanted him to cut it out because if he didn’t, any minute now, she’d be climbing onto his lap and doing unspeakable things to him in front of a room full of strangers. 

She forced herself to take a sip of wine and glanced nervously at El who seemed to be reading her thoughts.

‘So, how’s Hope’s foot?’ she asked, doing her best to get her best friend focused on something other than the Adonis by her side.

Sara tried her best to concentrate. ‘Much better’ she said as Neal nodded in agreement. ‘She’s barely limping and she’ll be fine to go back to school next week.’

‘Good’ said Peter. ‘Because I was thinking I’d take her bowling next Saturday.’

‘She’s gonna love that’ Neal said with a smile as the music started up.

Peter looked over at El and put out his hand. ‘My lady’ he said, uncharacteristically chivalrous.

Elizabeth took his outstretched hand and stood to follow him as Neal and Sara sat watching them head for the dance floor. 

‘You okay?’ Neal asked, suddenly concerned about how quiet his wife was.

‘Better than okay’ she said, leaning back and feeling his hand stroking her back, slow and languorous. ‘I just wish...’

Neal looked at her with concern.

‘I wish you’d stop touching me like that...’ she finished, biting her bottom lip suggestively.

Neal laughed softly and leaned in to kiss her neck once more. ‘Sorry… no can do’ he whispered lustily. ‘I’ve waited a long time to have you all to myself.’

Sara chuckled and tried to get herself under control. ‘I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed having you touch me like that’ she said as Neal pulled away, his face still invading her personal space, gazing longingly at her.

‘You’re right’ he admitted with a boyish shrug. ‘It’s hard to connect like this with the kids around. But tonight is all about us. Just you and me’ he added in a soft murmur.

Sara looked around the room at the two hundred or so fellow revellers and laughed out loud.

Neal shrugged. ‘I don’t see anyone but you.’

WCWCWC

The foursome danced the night away. The mood was festive, the music inviting and the Caffreys and Burkes took full advantage of their time together after having spent Christmas apart. 

Peter complained about his nephew’s inclination to start the day with a heaping helping of loud rap music and the fact that his mom still doted on him like he was twelve years old and El whined about her brother-in-law’s annoying habit of picking his teeth at the table after every meal.

‘Well, you try dealing with a crying, teething baby and a five year old with the flu’ Neal countered in response to their long list of grievances.

‘...and an airbag exploding in your face!’ Sara added as everybody winced.

‘Okay, okay, you win!’ Peter conceded. ’You had a much harder time of it than we did.’

‘It wasn’t so bad’ Neal said. ‘By Christmas Day, we were all on the mend and we had a great time, didn’t we honey?’ he added as he looked over at his wife.

‘I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way’ she agreed. ‘But we did miss you guys.’

‘Ditto’ said El. ‘Oh, did Hope like that board game we got her?’

‘Like it?’ Neal said with an eye roll. ‘She wants to play it 24/7. I’m sure she’s got Mozzie playing right now.’

‘And does that little outfit I got for Liam fit him okay?’ Elizabeth asked.

‘You can see for yourself when you come over for dinner tomorrow’ Sara said in response.

Neal checked his watch, noting it was just past 11:00. They would have to try to hang on at least until midnight but he felt himself getting antsy and more eager by the minute to get his wife away from the crowd. He put his hand out as a nice soft ballad began.

‘You want to dance?’ 

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

Peter gingerly removed his hand from his wife’s waist and tugged at his shirt collar for the third time in as many minutes.

‘Too tight?’ Elizabeth asked as they continued swaying to the music.

‘...and scratchy’ Peter admitted as El’s hands moved up to try to provide relief.

She fiddled with the top button of his shirt, trying to get it undone without upsetting the delicate bowtie and she heard Peter sigh in relief as she finally managed the tricky feat.

‘Thanks hon’ he said as a relaxed smile returned to his face.

Being in a monkey suit was most definitely not one of Peter Burke’s favourite things and if he was attending this New Year’s Eve celebration, it was certainly in deference to his wife and her job as event coordinator. He would have been just as happy watching the ball drop from the comfort of their living room couch, beer in hand – as a matter of fact, he would have preferred it that way. 

He glanced a few feet over to where Neal and Sara danced, nestled in each other’s arms and looking like they belonged in such an opulent setting. Although he’d discovered a new side of Neal over the past few years – watching in surprise as his ex-CI expertly changed diapers and wiped spit up – Neal still managed to pull off the debonair, sophisticated look and he looked just as comfortable in this setting as he did in his kitchen making bologna sandwiches for Hope’s lunch. Peter shook his head at the enigma that was Neal Caffrey and he watched with interest as Sara giggled at some intimate comment Neal had just whispered in her ear.

‘They look like they’re having a good time’ Peter said with a head nod in their direction.

‘Yeah, it’s nice to see them relaxing after the kind of week they just had’ Elizabeth agreed as she glanced over at the young couple.

‘What about you, honey? Are you having a good time?’ she added as her eyes returned to Peter.

‘Yeah, of course’ he said with as much self-assurance as he could muster.

Elizabeth laughed. ‘Oh honey! I love you for trying so hard; I know this isn’t your kind of shindig.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Peter said, smiling down at his wife. ‘Holding a beautiful woman in my arms – how could I not be having a wonderful time?’

El placed a grateful kiss on his lips, a promise of more to come.

‘How about we invite Neal and Sara up to our suite for a nightcap?’ she suggested. ‘There’s a small stash of champagne in the kitchen and I could sneak us up a bottle.’

‘Sounds great’ Peter replied as he glanced at his watch, noting it was just a couple of minutes to midnight.

WCWCWC

‘I’d forgotten just how much fun it is to go dancing with you’ Neal said as he expertly waltzed his wife around the dance floor. 

As in all things, Neal was all in, intense, ardent and fiercely passionate. He gazed into her eyes with a mischievous grin and she beamed back, looking amazingly beautiful and leaving him speechless. He began to envision that, in a short while, he’d be helping her take her hair down and would finally get to unzip the beautiful gown and watch it fall to the floor at her feet. He knew exactly what he’d find underneath but that didn’t dampen his spirits – quite the contrary. He couldn’t wait to see her standing there with her hair falling down the side of her face in her strapless bra and matching panties. She was wearing those pull on stockings he loved so much and he imagined himself on his knees, pulling them down slowly as Sara hovered over him, hungry for his touch.

He gave his head a little shake and brought his attention back to his wife’s face as she smiled fondly up at him.

‘I know, I don’t know why we don’t just do it more often’ she agreed – and for a moment, he wondered what she was talking about.

The music began to fade and the master of ceremonies stepped up to the microphone as the guests began to chatter more loudly. The bewitching hour was upon them.

‘In ten seconds, everyone’ the man said as the crowd began to count down ‘9-8-7-6’.

Neal eyes didn’t leave Sara’s face. It had been a rough year for both of them and he looked forward to a fresh start, a new year full of brand new possibilities. She was everything to him even before he’d known it and he felt a shiver up his spine at the thought that she had chosen him to share her life with.

‘5-4-3-2-1’ the countdown continued as whistles rang out and confetti began to rain down on them all.

Despite the lump in his throat, Neal spoke, his voice shaky. ‘Happy New Year sweetheart’ he murmured, cupping her face in his hands. 

‘Happy New Year, Caffrey’ she replied fondly as his lips moved in to kiss hers, deep yet venerable, a touch of melancholy in both their gaze.

The moment was interrupted by Peter and Elizabeth who suddenly appeared at their side and the young couple pulled away from each other to hug their friends and wish them all the best for the coming year. Old Lang Syne could be heard playing in the background as revellers moved around the room, hugging and kissing with wishes of prosperity and happiness.

‘I think my work here is done’ said Elizabeth. ‘How about you guys come up to our suite for a nightcap?’

‘Your suite?’ Neal repeated, suddenly intrigued.

‘Yeah, the hotel gave us a couple of complimentary suites as a thank you for choosing them for the party’ El responded as she exchanged a furtive glance with Sara.

She could tell by Neal’s reaction that Sara still hadn’t told her husband about her little surprise and being the one to spill the beans was the furthest thing from her mind. 

‘Look, I’ll get us a bottle of champagne and we’ll see you up there. Suite 2207’ she said as she separated from the group and went off on her mission.

Neal and Sara shared knowing looks. There would be time for them to be alone when they got home but for now, they would have to put their plans on hold so they could spend a little bit of time with their best friends. Sara excused herself to go to the ladies and Peter and Neal stood in the middle of the chaos waiting for the women to return.

‘So…’ Peter said. ‘Enjoying yourself?’

‘It’s a great party’ Neal said. ‘The food was terrific and... well, it’s really nice to be able to catch up with the two of you.’ 

Peter placed a hand on Neal’s shoulder as he spoke. ‘Same here buddy. We really missed you guys at Christmas.’

‘Ahh, there’ll be many others, Peter’ Neal replied reassuringly.

‘When do you go back to work?’ Peter asked as the men slowly made their way to the exit on their way to the hotel lobby.

‘Next Monday. Sara and I took the rest of the week off... you know, with school starting up Monday and... well, we’re just going to enjoy being healthy and being together.’

‘Yeah’ Peter said. ‘I’m going back on the second. We’ve got a big case coming up.’

‘Oh yeah?’ Neal said, his curiosity piqued.

Although he hadn’t worked full time for the Bureau since his anklet had come off, he still dabbled when needed and his employer, Finch and Johns, was always good at giving him time off when Peter needed his help on a case. He hadn’t worked with Peter in over a year, mostly because he’d spent a good part of the past twelve months recuperating from his accident but he looked forward to a new caper to start off the New Year.

The excitement in Neal’s eyes didn’t escape Peter’s gaze and he grinned at his ex-partner. ‘I’ll keep you posted. Maybe you’ll want to make an appearance on this one.’ 

They were interrupted by Sara who returned with her lipstick freshened up and looking just as well put together as when they’d first arrived, hours earlier. Peter waved the card key in his hand and ushered the Caffreys to the nearby elevator as they made their way up to the twenty-second floor.

WCWCWC

By the time they arrived upstairs, Elizabeth was already there and a hotel staffer was setting out some leftover finger foods and some strawberries dipped in chocolate.

‘Elizabeth Burke!’ Neal exclaimed as he stepped in, admiring the suite. ‘Well done!’

The space was luxurious, definitely top of the line – the kind of hotel room Neal would have loved to sneak into in his younger days. There was a large sitting area and a smaller eating space and Neal could see an oversized bedroom with a king size bed behind the double doors which had been left ajar. The view of Manhattan was breathtaking on this crisp winter night, soft snow having started up again and contributing to the magical tableau. 

‘Have a seat’ said Elizabeth, looking like she was right in her element.

Peter made his way to the bar and began fiddling with the champagne bottle. He was infinitely more skilled at popping open a beer bottle and he seemed relieved to see that Neal had followed him, prepared to put his buddy out of his misery.

‘Here, let me do that’ he said in his usual self-assured way.

Peter handed over the bottle, relieved, and he shrugged off his jacket and pulled off the constricting bow tie as he finally made his way to sit next to his wife on one of the two leather couches. A loud pop was heard, followed by a collective cheer and Neal brought the bottle over to the sitting area to join the rest of the group.

The women took off their shoes, both of them sighing in relief as circulation returned to their aching feet. Neal took off his jacket and proceeded to fill everyone’s glass as he took a spot on the couch next to Sara across from the Burkes.

‘Happy New Year’ Elizabeth said as she raised her glass.

Everyone echoed her good wishes and took a long, slow drink from their champagne flutes.

‘This is the good stuff!’ Neal exclaimed as he studied the bottle. ‘Elizabeth, you’ve been holding out on us.’

‘Well, only the best for you guys’ she said as she took another sip and slipped her arm into Peter’s.

Neal sat back, feeling Sara’s arm around the back of the couch and slouching slightly, he curled up in her open arms. He wasn’t looking forward to the drive back to White Plains but he momentarily set aside the thought as he let himself melt into his wife’s embrace.

‘This is really nice, guys’ Sara said, running her hand languidly through Neal’s hair. ‘Thanks for tonight, we really needed a break from the routine.’

‘It’s nice to get dressed up every once in a while’ El added in agreement as Peter rolled his eyes – something which Neal picked up on immediately.

‘Aww, come on Peter, you’ve got to admit that living this kind of life has its appeal’ Neal said, challenging his best friend on his rather humdrum, white bread life.

‘This from the guy who changes poopy diapers on conference room tables’ Peter teased as they all chuckled. 

‘That’s what I’m saying, it’s nice to take a break from our everyday lives and enjoy the high life every once in a while’ Neal argued.

Peter shot him a look; they would just have to agree to disagree.

‘So, what were the highlights for everybody this past year?’ Elizabeth asked of everyone present.

They all knew this had been a particularly difficult year for the Caffreys but there was something about looking back, then forward that had a cleansing, almost healing, effect.

Neal and Sara exchanged knowing glances. There was much pain in remembering the past twelve months but there was also great joy as they thought ahead to the coming year, leaving all that heartache behind.

‘Well, Liam’s birth was definitely the highlight for us’ Neal said, soberly.

Sara nodded in agreement as she pulled Neal in tighter. They had gone through two brief separations over the past twelve months and the memories were still painfully raw. After his accident, Neal had gone through a period of confusion and uncertainty and he’d ended up moving into his old room at June’s for a few days while he worked things out. He still blamed his actions and their temporary estrangement for Sara’s post-partum depression which had lasted for a couple of months following Liam’s birth. Added to their misfortune had been the nasty ploy by Matthew Keller to break them up. His plot to reintroduce one of Neal’s exes back into his life had only added to the couple’s distrust of each other and if it hadn’t been for the last few months of couple’s counselling, Neal feared they wouldn’t have been able to overcome the sense of betrayal Sara had felt. 

As it was, they had come out of the whole experience stronger than before but Neal couldn’t help but feel a lump forming in his throat at the thought of how close he’d come to losing Sara and his family. He sat up straight and drew Sara into his arms, pulling her close and depositing a kiss on her forehead as she sighed, her breath shaky.

Peter and El watched everything play out in Neal’s eyes. ‘I know it’s been a rough year’ El said kindly. ‘But look at the two of you, you’re stronger than ever.’

Neal nodded, unable to speak and Sara could feel the tension in every muscle of his body. She patted his leg in an effort to reassure him.

’We’re good’ she said, her voice unsteady. ‘Aren’t we Caffrey?’

He nodded silently and wiped a wayward tear which had spilled onto his cheek. 

‘Anyway…’ Sara said, in an effort to break the somber mood. ‘We have a brand new year ahead of us, full of possibilities... and we have each other.’

Peter and El nodded, hands firmly clasped. They’d hated to see their friends suffering through the challenges of the past year and they’d been more than relieved when the couple had managed to work things out.

‘Here’s to new beginnings’ El said as she raised her glass.

‘To new beginnings’ the trio echoed.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

Sara yawned once again as the foursome stared bleary-eyed at each other. The bottle of champagne had been emptied almost a half hour ago and El had offered to open another one to Neal’s protests; it was past one in the morning and they had a long drive home. He stood, reluctantly calling an end to the pleasant get-together.

‘I think my wife is about to fall asleep’ he said as he stood and helped Sara to her feet.

As the designated driver, he’d held back on the champagne consumption preferring to let Sara have her fill – something that seemed to be catching up with her in the wee hours of the New Year.

‘Yes, thank you guys’ Sara said as she hugged Peter then Elizabeth.

‘So, don’t forget, dinner at our place, six o’clock tomorrow night’ Neal said as he thought ahead to all he still had to do to get ready for the meal he’d planned. ‘Or should I say, later tonight.’

He took one last longing look out the window at the spectacular view as snow blanketed Manhattan and he turned to open the door for Sara as they said their last goodbyes. 

They stepped out into the hallway of the twenty-second floor and Sara took a right as Neal grabbed her arm to guide her towards the elevators which were situated to the left — damn woman had absolutely no sense of direction and it drove Neal crazy every time.

She resisted his nudge and continued to pull him in the other direction, to Neal’s increasing irritation.

‘Hey Marco Polo!’ he teased as he attempted to pull her back. 'You’re going the wrong way.’

Sara continued to walk in the other direction, a strange gleam in her eye as Neal protested. ‘Honey, come on, it’s late’ he said, an edge of impatience apparent in his voice.

He’d been looking forward to some alone time with his wife but now he was wondering if either one of them would be up to the challenge by the time they finally made it home to Mozzie and the kids. 

Suddenly, Sara stopped dead in her tracks as she came face to face with the door to one of the adjoining rooms and she reached for something in her clutch while Neal watched with interest, now totally confused by her behaviour. Had she really had _that_ much to drink?

She lifted a card key out of her purse and waved it in front of his eyes as he began to slowly clue in to what was happening.

‘Are you kidding me?’ he asked, a smile appearing on his previously frustrated face.

‘Uh uh’ she said with a naughty giggle as the door to the suite clicked open.

She stepped in, followed by Neal who now had an all out ear to ear grin on his tired face.

‘This is for us?’ he asked, still unsure he was getting the full gist of what was going on.

‘Yup’ she answered offhandedly as she pulled him in behind her, closing the door and pushing him up against it before bringing her lips to his surprised but grateful mouth.

Neal was still dealing with the shock and he gently pushed her away so he could get a good look at her eyes in the dimly lit room, which from what he could see was identical to the one they’d just left.

‘We’ve got a suite?’ he asked again.

‘Neal, would you please shut the fuck up and kiss me’ she said as she returned her lips to his, kissing him hard this time.

‘But —‘he attempted as she continued her relentless attack on his mouth. 

Once it had become obvious she had his undivided attention, she pulled away, looking mighty pleased with herself as her deception finally came to light. For a guy who loved surprising her at the drop of a hat, he didn’t do so well when he was on the receiving end of subterfuge. He definitely had control issues and she loved it when she got the chance to pull the wool over his unsuspecting ex-conman eyes.

She untangled herself from his arms and moved deeper into the suite, turning on a couple of lamps as Neal began to check out their surroundings. There was yet another bottle of champagne in an ice bucket by the couch and a plate of chocolate dipped strawberries identical to the one they’d just seen in the Burkes’ room. Sara stopped in the middle of the room and gave him a come hither look, crooking her finger in invitation as she threw her shoes off to a corner of the room. Neal reacted without hesitation — he could always ask questions later, much later -– and he moved in on his prey as she playfully eluded his grasp and headed over to the window where she stood, looking provocatively at him through lust-filled eyes.

She ran her hands suggestively up her body, settling under her breasts as she puckered up and blew him a kiss. ‘Like what you see Caffrey?’ she asked in an exaggerated whisper.

He was instantly by her side, trapping her in his arms as he distractedly glanced out at the view – the same, amazing view as the one down the hall.

‘You are such a tease’ he murmured playfully as his hands reached out to connect with the zipper on the back of her gown, the same one he’d lovingly pulled up for her hours before.

She gave him an eyebrow wag and exhaled loudly, finally giving in to the urge she’d been fighting most of the night. She slipped her hands underneath his jacket and giggled as it fell off his shoulders and landed unceremoniously on the floor. His eyes shone, dark and brooding as he made quick work of the zipper of her dress, watching with a hitch in his breath as it pooled around her feet, leaving her just as he’d imagined, in her silk underthings, looking beautiful and perfectly… perfect. She shivered as she felt the cool air on her bare skin.

‘What? No foreplay?’ she asked mischievously.

Neal’s mouth moved to her neck then to the top of her breasts where he expertly pried off the cute little silk bra with the exclusive use of his teeth. ‘Oh, you’ve had plenty of foreplay tonight baby’ he replied impishly, now totally focussed on getting them over to the bed in the next room.

She looked into his hooded eyes, marvelling at how he’d morphed from frustrated to confused to totally turned on in the course of a minute and a half. He began to coax her in the direction of the bedroom, his hands roaming, his lips frantically searching for somewhere to land. He mumbled something she couldn’t quite make out but which she knew should never be uttered in mixed company. He reached for her hair, pulling out some of the hairpins and watching as her red tresses spilled onto her shoulders. She shook her head as he buried his hands in her strawberry locks, his lips finding hers once more. Within seconds, he had her positioned on the giant bed, already breathless as he expertly removed the rest of her scant underthings, stopping every few seconds to hastily remove an article of clothing from his own, very turned on, body.

He looked down at her, a predatory look on his face, as he prepared to launch his attack.

‘Happy fucking New Year Repo’ he said lewdly as he went to town.

WCWCWC

The Caffreys sat up in bed in the luxurious suite, sipping champagne and giggling like a couple of lovesick teenagers. It was almost three in the morning and Neal knew he’d be paying for his excesses in the morning but at the moment, he didn’t want to give a second thought to anything but the beautiful woman lying in his arms. He reached over languidly to grab a strawberry which he lovingly placed between Sara’s lips as she hummed in appreciation. 

‘Mmmmm’ she said as she tasted the sweetness of the chocolate.

She reached over and did the same for him as he willingly opened his mouth and sighed in appreciation.

‘This is even better than our honeymoon’ she said as she glanced around the suite, taking in the opulence of their surroundings.

Neal pouted exaggeratedly. ’Hey, don’t you talk like that about our honeymoon.’

Silence unexpectedly descended on the room and their eyes met in the sudden stillness, a multitude of emotions apparent in their intense gaze – regret, hurt, forgiveness, love. 

‘I’m sorry’ Neal said instinctively. ‘About everything.’

She ran her hand through his hair. ‘Honey, there’s nothing to be sorry about. We’ve both made mistakes and we’ve both hurt each other and all I want is to forgive and forget everything that happened last year and concentrate on to the future’ she answered, her voice unsteady.

He nodded in agreement; she was right of course. Nothing could be gained from rehashing the past; it was all about the wonderful future that lay ahead, a future which, thankfully, they would be sharing together. For the second time that night, Neal felt overwhelmed with emotion at the thought of how very close he’d come to throwing it all away. He never wanted them to drift apart again; this life he held so dear was so very fragile and if he’d learned anything over the past year, it was to never take things for granted.

‘I love you _so_ much’ he said, his gaze intense.

‘I love _you_ ’ she added, touching his face gently.

And with that, blessed silence returned as they held each other tight, knowing with certainty that they would always be there for one another, no matter what lay ahead.

WCWCWC

The unexpected knock on the door came at about eight thirty and Sara lifted her head, wondering if she’d dreamt it or not. Neal lay comatose next to her; it had been a late night and he was making up for the lack of sleep from the previous week. The knock was heard once again.

‘Room service’ the muffled voice called out as Sara rose, throwing on the silk robe provided by the hotel and making her way to the door.

She opened the door a crack, seeing a young man standing there in a hotel uniform and a tell-tale tray covered in dishes.

‘But we didn’t order...’ she began as the young man looked down at a piece of paper in his hands.

‘Caffrey?’ he asked as she nodded. ‘Compliments of the Burkes’ he read as Sara opened the door all the way to let him roll in his little cart overflowing with food.

She reached for her purse, handing him a tip just as Neal appeared, his eyes unfocussed.

‘Thanks’ she said as the young man let himself out.

‘More surprises?’ Neal said as he walked over to the table, peeking under one of the sterling silver domes.

‘Yeah, from Peter and Elizabeth this time’ she said as she grabbed for a slice of bacon.

All of a sudden, she was starved. Neal smiled in response; this was just like Peter and Elizabeth.

‘What do you say we invite them over to share some of this stuff?’ he asked as he reached for the phone by the couch. ‘We’re never going to be able to eat all that.’

Within minutes, El and Peter had arrived, fully dressed and looking very fit and relaxed, in direct contrast to Neal and Sara who sat there in matching robes, looking like they’d had a very gruelling (or was that enjoyable) night.

‘Ooooh’ Elizabeth moaned. ‘...this French toast is amazing.’

‘Mmmm’ Sara agreed as she took another mouthful of sumptuous scrambled eggs with smoked salmon.

The men watched as the women swooned over the food; they knew their wives would both be back on regimented diets within days.

‘So, were you surprised to find out you didn’t have to drive home last night?’ El asked as she turned to look at Neal.

He sipped on his coffee and let out a muted laugh as he recalled the events of the night before.

‘At first, I just thought Sara didn’t remember the way to the elevator’ he said. ‘... which wouldn’t have surprised me considering her lousy sense of direction.’

Sara playfully poked him in the ribs. ’Hey!’ she called out in mock anger. ‘Is that what I get for giving you a night of unbridled passion in an upscale hotel suite?’

‘How did you even get that overnight bag past me, anyway?’ he asked as he glanced over at the familiar case which sat by the bed.

‘I had an accomplice’ she said.

‘Mozzie?’ Neal asked as she shook her head.

‘Shorter.’

‘Shorter than Mozzie?’ Peter asked as everyone broke out in laughter.

‘Hope? You mean you got our innocent little girl to pull a fast one on her dad’ Neal said, seemingly insulted.

‘Hey, you’ve got to get your allies where you can’ Sara said with an amused grin.

They laughed heartily as Peter and Elizabeth watched with interest. They were relieved to see their best friends looking happy and relaxed now that those painful months were finally behind them. They exchanged knowing looks and secret smiles as they read each other’s thoughts.

‘This is great guys... and don’t get me wrong, we’re really grateful for everything’ Neal said as he stood and, in a surprise move, lifted Sara up in his arms, bridal style. ‘But I’m sure you’ll understand if I whisk my gorgeous wife off to the Jacuzzi.’

Peter and El stood, the not so subtle message more than clear.

‘There’s a Jacuzzi?’ Peter shouted out in surprise.

He took El’s hand, leading her to the door, his intentions clear. After all, check-out wasn’t until eleven o’clock.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

The drive home was short and uneventful, the roads practically deserted at noon on New Year’s Day. Neal and Sara sat side by side, holding hands as they drove in silence, heading home after a most invigorating and enjoyable night out on the town.

‘That was _so_ much fun’ Sara declared for the second time as Neal glanced fondly at her.

He still didn’t quite know what he’d done in his wretched life to deserve a woman the likes of Sara Ellis, a woman who had taken a chance on an ex-con, who’d married him, given him two amazing children and continued to stand steadfastly by his side.

‘We definitely need to get back to our regular date nights now that Liam’s a little bit older’ he said, feeling her warm, soft hand in his.

Sara nodded in agreement. Their monthly date nights had been abruptly interrupted by the arrival of the newest member of their family and the subsequent six months of upheaval as she recovered from her most unfortunate encounter with postpartum depression. Now that she’d finally made it out of the long, dark tunnel, she couldn’t think of anything better than resuming regular date nights with her gorgeous, sexy husband. Her mind returned to the day ahead as she gave Neal a tentative smile.

‘You do realize we have a bunch of people coming for dinner in six hours, right? she reminded him, somewhat apprehensive about the seemingly insurmountable task ahead.

‘Piece of cake’ Neal murmured, countering Sara’s typically ‘glass half empty’ comment. ‘You’ll see… it’ll be fine.’

The soothing silence of the car would soon be replaced by the busy sounds of their hectic, boisterous household and that was fine with both of them. They looked forward to the chaos as Hope inevitably bustled through the house, unleashing her boundless energy and Liam cooed and giggled, an unmistakable sign that both their children were healthy and happy. But there was no denying the break in the routine had a been welcome respite, reenergizing them and providing them with a chance to reconnect and reminding them they needed to find time for each other despite the craziness of their family life.

As they arrived on their street, Neal noticed the Masons’ car parked in their driveway —something that would make his daughter very happy. He pulled into their driveway, next to Mozzie’s old beat up van and he and Sara clasped hands as they made their way to the front door, enjoying the last few seconds of peace and quiet.

‘Daddy! Mommy!’ they heard the moment the door opened.

Hope came running from the back of the house, throwing herself in her dad’s arms as he lifted her up and twirled her around. Next came Mozzie, carrying his godson in his arms and looking a little worse for wear.

‘So…’ Mozzie said as he came into view. ‘I see you’ve decided to return to the scene of the crime.’

‘Hey Mozzie!’ Sara said as she kissed his cheek in greeting. She did the same to her son who cooed at the sight of her.

'How did it go? Did they give you a hard time?’

Mozzie scoffed at the notion. The kids never gave him hard time - mainly because he let them do (and eat) whatever they wanted.

Hope, meanwhile, was bubbling over with excitement, verging on hysteria.

‘Daddy!’ she shouted as Neal winced in response to the shrillness of her voice. ‘I saw the big ball fall and the man was counting backwards!’

He gave Mozzie a dismissive look - so much for getting the kids to bed at a reasonable hour.

‘You did, did you?’ he replied to his daughter, humouring her.

‘And we had poutine for a midnight snack!’ she added as Mozzie averted Neal’s probing gaze.

‘Poutine?’ Neal said, doing his best to keep his voice even. ‘Greasy fries… with cheese curds and gravy… at midnight.’

‘Yes!’ Hope said, higher than a kite, on what snack food, Neal could only imagine.

Sara could see the look of horror on her husband’s face. Time to bring the temperature down a little. ‘Well, I’m glad you had a good time’ she said as she reached out to take Liam from his uncle’s arms.

‘Hungry, baby?’ she asked as Liam began to tug insistently at her top.

Mozzie felt an urgent need to escape Neal’s judgemental gaze. ‘I think I’ll head out and have a shower before tonight’ he said, grabbing his coat and making a hasty exit.

Despite Mozzie’s laissez-faire attitude with the kids, Neal was grateful that his children had an outlandish, albeit loving character such as their uncle Mozzie in their lives.

‘Thanks Moz’ he called out as the little man scurried past him.

‘Daddy! Can we play Operation again?’ Hope screamed in her dad’s ear. He winced once more and put her down, hoping his hearing would eventually recover.

‘Let’s take a deep breath, okay sweet pea?’ he said. ‘We’ve got company coming and Mommy and I still have a lot to do to get ready.’

He watched her smile dissolve into a frown and he crouched down to look into her eyes. ‘Guess what?’ he confided in a whisper. ‘I noticed Olivia is back. Why don’t we call her and invite her over to play for a while?’

Hope’s eyes grew in surprise and she let out a shriek of pure joy, practically knocking Neal off his feet.

‘Mommy! Mommy! Olivia is back’ she shouted as she ran to the back of the house where Sara was nursing her baby brother.

Neal took a long, slow cleansing breath.

Okay… they were home.

WCWCWC

By the time mid-afternoon rolled around, the crowd expected for New Year’s dinner had grown from eight to thirteen guests. Jeff and Donna Mason were on their own for the day and in a sudden outpouring of goodwill, Neal had called out to Charlie Stevens who’d been out shovelling and had invited both him and his wife, Myrtle, to join them for dinner.

As the number of guests grew, Sara continued to add more place settings at the dining room table - which normally seated eight. Thirteen was a bit of a stretch but they’d find a way to make it work; after all, it was the holidays, a time to open your heart and your home to friends and loved ones.

As the afternoon wore on, amazing kitchen smells began to waft through the house as Neal worked his magic, working efficiently and quickly now that his hand had almost fully healed. Sara kept an eye on the kids and saw to the logistics, making sure the table was set and the house presentable for the houseful of guests which would be descending on them shortly. Peter and Elizabeth were set to take a detour into Manhattan to pick up June who’d returned the day before from her trip out to California and Mozzie would be making an appearance in his own good time - the excellent Merlot Neal had purchased for the occasion was a guarantee of that.

Olivia and Hope had been thrilled to reunite after more than a week part and they had settled in with their Barbies and the usual paraphernalia in the family room while Liam snoozed up in his room.

‘Can I help with any of that?’ Sara asked as she swept through the kitchen and spied her husband hard at work, pots and pans simmering on all four burners.

‘I’m good’ he said calmly as he stopped long enough to give her a quick peck on the cheek. ‘How’s the table looking?’

‘It’ll be tight but we’ll make it work’ she replied, glancing into the family room. ‘Anyway, I doubt the girls will sit for longer than fifteen minutes…’

Neal grinned; it was true. Olivia and Hope would likely gobble down half their plates and be ready to return to playing together with all their great Christmas loot. Suddenly,Hope appeared at Neal’s side.

‘Daddy, Olivia and I want to put on a concert after dinner’ she announced, her eyes dancing with glee.

Neal cringed at the thought but gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up.

‘That’s a great idea, honey. Why don’t you guys go practice in the basement’ he suggested, hoping to keep the distracting noise to a minimum.

‘Let’s go Liv’ Hope called out as she prepared her latest assault on her parents’ delicate ears.

WCWCWC

By six thirty, the house was full of happy revellers. Neal invited everyone to take their seat at the table which was overflowing with platters of food he’d been busy preparing over the past few days. As all guests to the Caffrey home knew, sitting down to a meal prepared by the head chef himself was always a treat — Neal was bold and adventurous in his choices and everything he prepared turned out amazingly delicious.

‘Neal, you’ve really outdone yourself’ June enthused as she tucked into an avocado salad.

She sat to Neal’s left, her usual spot whenever she dined at their home. He reached out for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

‘I’m so happy to have you home’ he said affectionately as the loud murmur of voices continued around them.

‘I love visiting Lorna but… well, I missed you and the children’ she said as she turned to smile at her godson whose high chair was tucked in between her and Neal at the head of the table.

She reached over, feeding him a spoonful of his usual mush and Liam gurgled happily at the sight of his grandma, smiling down at him.

The room buzzed with conversations as everyone shared the excellent company and the wonderful food. Neal glanced down at the other end of the table where Sara was engaged in a rather animated conversation with Myrtle Sevens while Mozzie, seated on the other side of his wife was immersed in an intense discussion with Peter who was rolling his eyes at something the little man said. Olivia and Hope were giggling madly as Charlie Stevens told them some joke and Elizabeth was deep in conversation with Donna and Jeff Mason about the downside of being away from home for the holidays.

It was a motley crew to be sure but it seemed fitting that they would all come together on this day around the Caffrey table to celebrate the beginning of a brand new year filled with hopes and possibilities.

WCWCWC

‘Olivia says I don’t sing very well’ Hope moaned as Neal prepared to tuck her in for the night.

He sat on the edge of her bed, running his hand through her thick, wavy hair and trying to soothe away the frown that had appeared on her forehead. Off in the distance, he could hear the sound of mumbled voices as their guests continued to mingle and celebrate the arrival of the New Year.

‘Oh yeah?’ he replied, trying his best to remain non-judgemental.

‘Yeah’ she admitted, with an over the top pout. ‘It made me sad.’

‘Well…’ Neal said, weighing his words carefully. ‘What do _you_ think?’ he asked, hoping to evoke a little introspection on his daughter’s part.

She shrugged. ‘I don’t know… but I _like_ to sing.’

‘Then you should keep doing it no matter what anybody else says’ he said, stepping into his wise daddy shoes. ‘But, you know sweet pea, we can’t all be good at everything - even if it is something we really like to do.’

He watched her eyes glisten as he spoke. At almost six years old, he knew his daughter had the tendency of putting him on a pedestal - something he felt oddly uncomfortable with considering his sordid past. Despite his shortcomings, Hope couldn’t imagine a single thing her daddy wasn’t the best at. It was time to give her a bit of a reality check.

‘You know when I was little, I used to love running but I wasn’t very good at it’ he admitted. ‘I never won any of the competitions at school - even though I used to practice all the time.’

Hope’s eyes grew, her attention focussed on her wonderful, ‘could do no wrong’ dad. ‘But you go jogging all the time’ she said.

‘Yeah, I do. Because I like it. Now, I do it for myself and I don’t really care what anybody thinks or that I’ll probably never win any races.’

She kept staring, wide-eyed. She thought her dad was perfect in every way and his admission was forcing her to see things in a different light.

‘So, don’t give up on singing, just have fun with it okay?’ he concluded as he pulled the blankets up to her neck and tugged lovingly on her nose.

She nodded, her sadness vanished. ‘I love you Daddy’ she called out as he rose to our out the lights.

‘Sleep tight’ he replied with a wink.

WCWCWC

Elizabeth moaned as she took a spot next to her husband on the couch. ‘I ate too much’ she complained with an audible sigh. ‘Neal, the meal was amazing.'

It was close to midnight and the guests had all left except for the Burkes. The two couples were enjoying some peace and quiet as they sat in the living room by the Christmas tree, sipping on brandies and enjoying the silence which had finally descended on the house.

‘Thanks’ Neal replied self deprecatingly as Sara gave him a knowing look.

She hadn’t a clue how he did it but her husband could whip up a gourmet meal with a minimum of ingredients; she’d once seen him throw together a fantastic brunch for four with just a few eggs, some herbs and day old pumpernickel bread.

‘I can’t believe we’re starting a new year’ Peter said as he brought his arm around Elizabeth, inviting her to curl up next to him.

Neal did the same. ‘Well, personally, I’m just glad to leave last year behind’ he said. ‘I’m looking forward to a quieter year.’

Peter laughed. Excitement and intrigue seemed to follow Neal Caffrey wherever he went and he couldn’t imagine a time when there wouldn’t be some turmoil around the ex-con.

‘What?’ Neal asked, responding to Peter’s reaction.

‘You… that’s what. Are you telling me you don’t enjoy a little excitement in your life?’

‘Excitement yes but…’ Neal began as he squeezed his wife a little higher. ‘Last year wasn’t just excitement…’

Peter looked thoughtfully at his best friend. He was right; it had been rough going for the couple and by extension for their little family. Less angst and more honest to goodness adventure would likely be more welcome.

‘Well, you know you’re welcome back to the Bureau any time’ Peter said wistfully.Truth was, he missed having Neal by his side on a daily basis and although he’d made peace with Neal’s decision to pursue other opportunities, he still found himself looking longingly over at his ex CI’s empty desk every morning when he stepped into the White Collar offices.

‘Yeah, well, I’m sure we’ll get a chance to work together on _something_ this year’ Neal replied mysteriously.

Sara looked over at him, seeing the mischief in his eyes; there would always be some of the bad boy in him and frankly, it added to the mystique that was Neal Caffrey and remained one of the reason she loved him so much.

‘Well, I think we should toast to the New year’ El said, raising her glass.

‘To excitement! Minus the turmoil!’ she added with a chuckle.

Everyone lifted their glass, echoing her toast. Above all, the four friends hoped they’d find themselves together again in twelve months time, looking back on a most excellent year.

La fin


End file.
